When Rafael Correa, Ecuador's president, said yesterday that Opec needed to sell its oil in a "strong currency", he summed up the discontent widely shared by other Opec members and expressed most volubly by Iran and Venezuela.

"If we continue to trade it in a weak currency [the dollar], we are transferring rents to developed countries," Mr Correa said. "We will need to sell more of our oil to buy the same amount of goods and services." It was such sentiment that led to yesterday's decision to hold ministerial meetings to discuss Opec's response to the weak dollar.