OPEC Raised Production Quotas

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed at their meeting Wednesday to raise its formal production quotas by 500,000 barrels per day to 28 million bpd.

OPEC president Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah also was authorized to trigger consultations on a further 500,000 bpd increase within a matter of weeks, should prices stay high.

OPEC's latest estimate is that it is pumping some 30 million bpd, near a 25-year high, including Iraq which is exempt from a quota.