Any recession in the U.S. and elsewhere may be brief and the emerging economies of India and China are likely to withstand it, top Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries officials said Thursday, shortly after the cartel opted to leave its production levels untouched during policy talks.
At a press conference, OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem el-Badri said he didn't expect any recession to last for more than two or three quarters.
"I don't think China and India will be affected that much," he added.
OPEC President Chakib Khelil, who is also Algeria's oil minister, said Chinese gross domestic product "is constituted mainly by internal demand. Which means that the Chinese economy is less dependent on exports than we think. It will be definitely affected but not much...by a recession in the U.S."
The cartel, which pumps 4 out of 10 barrels consumed globally, has agreed to roll over its current production quotas, which OPEC's head of research Hassan Qabazard said is now 30 million barrels a day, a figure which contrasts with the 29.67 million barrels a day distributed between 12 member countries that was thought to be in place. Iraq has no output cap.