Is Opec just talking up the market again?

A deal is likelier now than it was before, but hurdles remain

Opec sent oil markets into a flutter in mid-August when it announced yet another informal meeting, which could result in a group-wide deal to freeze oil output. The group will meet in Algiers in late September, on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum, to discuss whether a coordinated freeze, or even cut, could be agreed across the producing group. Alexander Novak, Russia's energy minister, also suggested that the country might join the negotiating table in Algeria. Brent prices immediately strengthened, even breaching $50/b on 18 August for the first time since the beginning of July. Mohammed Bin Saleh al-Sada, Qatar's oil minister and Opec president, released a statement confiden