THE price of oil briefly nudged $US30 a barrel last week, its highest level for 15 months. That looks peculiar, because OPEC is currently pumping out 1,000,000 barrels a day more than the droopy world economy can use.

THE price of oil briefly nudged $US30 a barrel last week, its highest level for 15 months. That looks peculiar, because OPEC is currently pumping out 1,000,000 barrels a day more than the droopy world economy can use.