At a meeting convened by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, representatives of the leading oil consuming countries are meeting representatives of the leading oil producing countries to address the issue of the high oil price which is aggravating the financial difficulties afflicting the global economy. There is little hope of an immediate effect on the oil price, despite Saudi Arabia's commitment to increase production. "I think it's going to be virtually impossible to find a set of solutions at a meeting like this that will ease high prices in the short-term," Raad Alkadiri, senior director for country strategies at U.S.-based consultants PFC Energy.
