DALTON TANONAKA, CNN ANCHOR: A meeting of OPEC ministers in Vienna comes on the heels some of the highest oil prices in recent years. The decision to increase or decrease production was proposed. But as analysts expected, OPEC elected to hold steady at current output levels, a decision that came despite the recent halt in Iraqi oil exports. CNN's Tom Bogdanowicz has the story.</s>TOM BOGDANOWICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They came, they talked and decided to hold fire. OPEC ministers decided to leave oil production levels at their current rate of 24.2 million barrel a day, for now. Ministers clearly considering the halt in Iraqi oil exports to be a temporary problem, which doesn't require an instant response.</s>SUE GRAHAM, MERRILL LYNCH: Remember between December last year and February, we were also without Iraqi export, and actually during that period, we actually saw OPEC cut quotas, which indicates they weren't that concerned about the absence.</s>BOGDANOWICZ: Once Iraq's argument with the U.N. over changes to the sanctions regime against it is resolved, its oil taps may be turned on once more. That will add to what analysts already consider more than adequate stocks of crude oil. Factor in rapidly rising stocks of gasoline in the United States, and the conclusion is, that Iraq aside, their is little upward pressure on crude oil prices or wholesale gasoline prices.</s>CLAY SMITH, COMMERZBANK: In the last two weeks, gasoline prices in the U.S. have dropped down 20 percent; in Europe around 10 percent. So at the moment it looks like gasoline prices wills stay high, but the trend over the next couple of months will be on the downside.</s>BOGDANOWICZ: So OPEC's future meetings could pull in different directions. In July, it could be a case of increasing supply to make up for a continuing Iraqi freeze. On the other hand, if Iraq starts exporting again, and the oil falls below $25, OPEC ministers may return to Vienna in September and consider production cuts. Tom Bogdanowicz, CNN Financial News, London.
OPEC Elects to Hold Steady at Current Output Levels