A lot riding on next week’s Opec meeting in Vienna.

FIRST he thanks Australian Prime Minister John Howard for sending troops to Iraq. Then he says English is his “second language” and how happy he is to be at the OPEC summit meeting (instead of APEC).

As today's OPEC meeting moves into sharp focus Brent crude rebounded from the low $74/bbl region to around $75.50 (€54 to €56).

Fears about rising oil prices resurfaced today following the hostage-taking crisis in Saudi Arabia.