Opec, cornered

The group has no real option but to roll over its deal on 25 May. Prices should rise in the second half of the year—and then the policy debate will start again

All signals point to an extension of the Opec cuts on 25 May. Gulf producers are on board, above all Saudi Arabia, whose oil minister Khalid al-Falih thinks the policy should continue until global oil stocks are back within historical ranges. Venezuela will be happy to roll over the deal—the cuts make a virtue of its steady output decline. Compliance has been surprisingly high, showing a group-wide commitment. Unless Opec members are ready for more economic pain the extension should be baked into forecasts. The cuts haven't restored the $60-a-barrel-plus prices Saudi Arabia is thought to seek. But they prevented a slide back into the $40s or even $30s-basement prices that might have been rea