MG seems to have assumed also that long-dated forward contracts would move in lockstep with shorter-dated futures contracts. That too proved its undoing. Although the spot oil price fell sharply after OPEC, the producers' cartel, failed to reduce production in October 1993, longer-dated oil prices actually rose for a bit (see chart). (Chart omitted) Since longer-dated contracts are little traded, MG's scrabbling to get out of its positions may have given long prices an extra boost. Most in the market seemed to know what the firm was up to: because MG was trading in larger quantities than Nymex's position-limits permitted, it had to do business through other firms.