Amid reports of inventory increases, further surges in future non-OPEC supply and prices lying stagnant in the $40s, it’s becoming clear that the OPEC deal to extend production cuts in place since November has not had the desired effect. Now, OPEC states are taking divergent, self-interested approaches to the problem, raising new questions: will the group take new action to arrest the fall in prices, and if so what form will it take, and when? First, a little good news came to the market this week as the EIA reported a 1.7-million-barrel draw in inventories. At 511.5 million barrels, U.S. inventories remain in the upper half of the average range for this time of year. But the report nevertheless was a welcome change from last week’s 3.3 million barrel rise in inventories, as well as the API’s estimates that inventories would rise 2.75 million barrels this week ahead of […]