World oil futures firmed yesterday after Saudi Arabia said the cartel of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries needed to cut production to stem a slide in prices.
International benchmark Brent crude futures initially rose 78 cents on the Saudi remarks to $24.65 a barrel in London and last stood 98 cents firmer at $24.85. US light crude was trading 52 cents higher at $27.32 a barrel.
A Saudi official said that after a weekend summit of the Gulf Co-operation Council it believed OPEC needed to cut production by 1.5 million barrels a day to keep crude near $25 a barrel.
The six-strong council includes OPEC members Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar.
The Gulf Arab countries already have the support of others in OPEC for production curbs. Iran, Venezuela, Libya and Indonesia have made clear in recent weeks that they recognise the need for cutbacks ahead of a decline in seasonal demand in the second quarter.
The cartel, which still has bitter memories of a price collapse to below $10 a barrel in 1998, has been trying to tighten its management of prices which climbed to $35 a barrel last October.
