...AND CHEAPER...:

At OPEC, Some Worry as Oil Prices Start Falling (JAD MOUAWAD, 9/11/06, NY Times)

What a difference a few weeks can make. As OPEC ministers prepare to meet here Monday, the question on their minds is not how high oil prices will rise, but how far they may drop.

Crude oil prices have fallen more than $10 a barrel in the last month, driving down the retail price of gasoline and providing some relief for consumers. While energy prices remain high, they have not risen to the heights that many analysts had feared, in part because of a light hurricane season this summer, the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, and the fact that the United Nations has not imposed sanctions on Iran.

While there is no sense of urgency about oil price increases, some members of OPEC are beginning to express anxiety about further price declines.