Gulf members try to shore up Opec's credibility

But a pathway out of the cuts is still not clear

Opec's big guns are pulling out the stops. It should do the trick, tightening physical supplies and inflating the price this quarter, at least until refining maintenance kicks in again. But the big question remains: what is the end game? For now, the policy is reactive, not proactive. Opec needed to do something and has. The backdrop to its latest meeting in St Petersburg earlier this week wasn't pretty. Compliance with the cuts has started to creak. Brent, at around $48 a barrel on the eve of the summit, had fallen by more than 10% since Opec and its non-Opec partners agreed in May to extend their deal. Market sentiment in recent months has been deeply bearish. Bigger problems have been b