今日のテキスト OPEC OUTPUT UNCHANGED

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has decided to maintain its crude oil output ceiling.
The 12 member nations of OPEC made the decision at the group's headquarters in Vienna on Thursday. They agreed to keep their collective daily oil output target at 30 million barrels. Some delegations had appealed for a reduction to curb a further drop in prices. The appeals were overridden. Crude prices have tumbled more than 30 percent in the past six months, partly due to a boost in U.S. shale oil output.
At the gathering, the delegation from the largest oil producer, Saudi Arabia, argued that OPEC does not need to slash its production target as current price fluctuations are only short-term ones. Other delegations also claimed crude prices will rebound in the long term as the global economic recovery drives up demand for crude.
In after-hours trading in New York, futures prices fell below 70 dollars a barrel for the first time in four-and-a-half years after the OPEC decision. Many sell orders were placed for crude futures out of speculation that oil supply will be excessive.