Iran, Venezuela vow to ‘neutralise’oil price problem

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro have vowed to "neutralise" the threat posed to both countries by plummeting oil prices, in a barely veiled broadside at Saudi Arabia. Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members Iran and Venezuela are reeling from a slide in the cost of crude to around $50 per barrel from $100 just six months ago, a precipitous fall that is straining their budgets. Losses accelerated after the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries cartel, of which Iran and Venezuela are founders, chose late last year not to cut output despite lower prices and oversupply. Rouhani, his oil minister and other top officials in Tehran have criticised fellow OPEC member Saudi Arabia for not supporting steps to shore up crude prices. Rouhani was meeting with Maduro when he again appeared to point the finger at Riyadh, in remarks carried on the Iranian government's website.