World Oil Prices Plummet in Wake of OPEC Meeting

World oil prices plummeted today after a meeting of three key OPEC oil ministers in Saudi Arabia apparently failed to produce any significant cutback in production.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the benchmark West Texas Intermediate for May delivery plunged 54 cents to $16.90 a barrel in midday trading.

On the U.S. Gulf Coast cash market, West Texas Intermediate for prompt delivery dived 45 cents to $17 a barrel.

On the European spot market, Britain’s widely traded North Sea Brent fell 49 cents to $15.47 a barrel.

The United Arab Emirates’ Dubai light--the key OPEC crude from the Middle East shipped mainly to the Far East--slipped 5 cents to $13.60 a barrel.

Unleaded gasoline for May delivery dropped 0.99 cent to 59.45 cents a gallon on the Merc, while home heating oil slipped 1.40 cents to 52.80 cents a gallon.

Oil ministers of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE met Tuesday in Jidda, Saudi Arabia, to discuss overproduction by the latter two nations, which had played a role in the recent 14% plunge in world prices.

The three are key players in the 13-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which pumps more than a third of the world’s crude and which attempts to support higher prices by limiting production.

“It appears (Saudi oil minister Hisham) Nazer’s little tea party didn’t come up with anything significant. At least that’s what the market is saying today,” said Peter Beutel, a trader with Elders Futures Inc. in New York.