Article Summary
While sticking with a new strategy of letting market forces determine prices while producing more
to keep customers, OPEC has stated that oil prices will not be increasing for the remainder of 2015
due to increased supplies and falling demand in China. OPEC members had initially thought that
crude oil prices would rise to $70 – $80 a barrel by the end of 2015, but have revised their forecast
down to a price of $40 – $50 a barrel. Despite the drop in price, OPEC has decided to stick with its
new production strategy so new supplies from non-OPEC countries would not cut into OPEC’s share
of the market, even though the low prices are not bringing in enough revenue for the member
countries to balance their budgets. In a September 2015 report, the U.S. Energy Information
Administration reported that global oil output would exceed projected consumption by more than 2
million barrels a day in 2015.
Source: Summer Said and Benoit Faucon, “OPEC Sees Weak Oil Prices Through 2015,” Wall Street
Journal, September 10, 2015.
53) Refer to the Article Summary. The unexpected increase in the supply of oil mentioned in the article
summary resulted in a decrease in the price of oil. When the price of oil falls unexpectedly due to a
supply shock, the equilibrium price level ________ and the unemployment rate ________ in the short
run.
A) rises; falls
B) rises; rises
C) falls; falls
D) falls; rises
54) Refer to the Article Summary. The unexpected increase in the supply of oil mentioned in the article
summary resulted in a decrease in the price of oil. After an unexpected decrease in the price of oil, the
long-run adjustment ________ the price level and ________ the unemployment rate as they return to
their original levels.
A) increases; increases
B) increases; decreases
C) decreases; increases
D) decreases; decreases