No one ever said the Saudi's were stupid. It still reverts to supply and demand, but as a public company instead of a Sheikdom, they have to answer to shareholders if their production costs don't justify a dividend. Therefor watch the Saudi's drive down the price of oil to put a halt on U.S. shale and oil sands production. It should help the metals though. Later when all the US production is all but stopped due to cost, the price of oil spikes back up. Now with more demand than supply, the price at the pumps pads the middle eastern pockets. In the meantime, we ( the US Govt.) keep sending millions if not billions of $$$ to these Sheikdoms so they remain our "friends", and not go over to the "other side".