OPEC lifted oil output limits today but, bumping up against full capacity, failed to make any immediate dent in $55 a barrel crude.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to raise its formal production quotas by 500,000 barrels a day to 28 million bpd.
Cartel President Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah was authorised to trigger consultations on a further 500,000 bpd increase within a matter of weeks, should prices stay high.
But ministers offered scant hope they can force prices back below the $50 a barrel that OPEC thinks the world needs to sustain the economic growth that fuels oil demand.
"We've assessed the market and concluded that there is plentiful supply and the problem is with refining," said Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi.
"We have to prepare for the fourth quarter. Demands on OPEC will increase to 30.5-31 (million bpd) and we have to prepare ourselves to continue increasing our production just to reach the call on OPEC," said Sheikh Ahmad.
Latest estimates from OPEC are that is pumping some 30 million bpd, including quota-exempt Iraq, near a 25-year high.
Oil traders were not impressed. Prices rose, extending gains driven by worries over an OPEC capacity crunch and refinery bottlenecks that are squeezing global petroleum product supplies.
US crude added 60 cents to $55.60 a barrel. Dealers said the new deal merely legitimises existing output, leaving a tough test for hard-pressed producers ahead of the fourth quarter, when annual world demand peaks.