OPEC decides not to pump more oil

VIENNA, Austria (AP) — OPEC decided Friday against pumping more oil in a rebuff to Washington and a possible prelude to cuts as early as next month should the wounded U.S. economy sap demand for crude.

The decision arrived despite U.S. urgings — backed by other major consumers — for more oil on the market to cool prices and relieve inflationary pressures that have contributed to fears of a global economic downturn.

Oil prices dropped nearly $3 a barrel Friday after the U.S. said employers cut jobs in January, renewing worries that a possible U.S. recession that could eat into oil demand as OPEC ministers suggested.

The 13-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries insists that supplies were adequate and that speculators and geopolitical jitters — not oil availability — were setting prices.

OPEC said it is focused on near-term expectations: the likelihood of less demand as the Western Hemisphere’s heating season ends and before its summer driving season begins; the prospect of more barrels both from OPEC and non-OPEC nations, and fears that the market will shrivel if economic woes worsen.