Iran persuaded five member countries to block an attempt by Saudi Arabia to boost the nations' production by 1.5m barrels a day, sending Brent crude prices up $2 a barrel to one-month highs. Saudi oil minister said the Vienna meeting was "one of the worst we have ever had", after the nation won the support of just three of Opec's 12 members. Brent crude oil prices are now $44.80, or 60.87 per cent, higher than a year ago. The rises are particularly damaging to the oil-dependent US economy, which has been under pressure for months from the rising input cost. In late May the US reported annualised GDP growth of just 1.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2011, throwing doubt on the sustainability of its economic recovery, with oil price rises blamed for the slump. But some fund managers have been playing the rising oil price theme, targeting related stockmarket equities. Robert Farago, Head of Asset Allocation at Schroders Private Banking, said yesterday: "Our favourite commodity play is definitely oil. "If you look back to the 1970s, all types of commodity rose together – energy, metals, and soft commodities – but the latter part of the rally was led by oil and gold. We think that there is a reasonable chance that this could happen again. "There is not enough oil to meet future demand growth, and on-going tensions in the Middle East are placing further pressure on production, increasing the risk of further price spikes.

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