beginning of october when they were hovering around eighty dollars investors had hoped to supply cuts from opec or prop up prices of the cartel of oil producing countries is finding that easier said than done. earlier this month oil cartel opec and its partner countries agreed to cut production to one point two million barrels a day from january. to reduce supply and boost prices the price of a barrel of bread has been dragged down by a combination of factors the global macro economic outlook isn't shining on the oil industry and this week's rate hike from the u.s. federal reserve has exacerbated investor fears of an economic slowdown but oversupply remains the biggest challenge for the industry increasing crude production in the u.s. which is now a top producer worldwide makes it more difficult for opec to control the global market. so while the downward trend that oil prices may be welcome news for drivers it spells trouble for opec an inability to influence price may mean its