OPEC and the price of a barrel of crude oil

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The 12 oil-rich nations who comprise the cartel called OPEC have decided to precipitously cut production, says the NYTimes.

Crude reached a high of $145 a bbl the summer of 2008. Today it has spiraled to $64.

"For consumers, falling commodity prices have been one of the only positive developments in a profoundly depressed economic landscape. If OPEC’s cut eventually sends oil prices higher, that would be another blow to the global economy," wrote the NY Times.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a cartel of 13 countries[2], says Wikipedia, made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. The organization has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965.