The U.K. and Soviets were accused of dumping oil.

A senior Venezuelan official accused the two nations of dumping 800,000 barrels a day of oil on world spot, or non-contract, markets in a conspiracy against OPEC, while the oil minister of Saudi Arabia was quoted as saying that his kingdom has cut oil production to defend the cartel’s prices. “The Soviet Union and Britain are carrying out an anti-OPEC action, trying to conspire against the strength of the organization,” said Carmelo Lauria, chief of staff to Venezuela’s president. In Geneva, the OPEC news agency quoted Saudi oil minister Shiek Ahmed Zaki Yamani as saying that the only retaliatory measure that OPEC could take if the price of oil was forced down would be a price war. , but he said the cartel currently is not considering such a move.