THE LUMP — There is something of a “lump” visible in April in both the daily chart (above) and the monthly chart (below). May has just ended and the average price of an OPEC barrel that month was $109.94, almost identical to the March average of $109.84. In between, April had an average price eight dollars higher of $118.09—the April lump. OPEC was meeting as the Iran Times went to press this week with reports that it might raise production quotas to try to drive prices down below $100 a barrel. The Islamic Republic won’t like that—but the word is that Saudi Arabia will raise its output after the meeting whether Iran likes it or not.
