Iran calls for oil production cuts

TEHRAN, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Iran said Monday it would call for a cut in oil production at the November meeting in Vienna for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Iranian Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari said the production cut is necessary to stave off the massive drop in oil prices following the global economic meltdown last week, the Iranian Press TV said.

"It seems that if OPEC does not take a major decision to confront falling oil prices, investment conditions in the oil industry would be faced with a serious danger," he said.

OPEC members in their September meeting agreed to cut production by about 500,000 barrels per day, or roughly 1.5 percent of its August levels, as oil prices dipped below $100 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange following a July peak of around $147.

Crude fell almost $9 in Friday trading as world leaders struggled to come up with a coordinated rescue plan to renew confidence in global markets.

Optimism from plans to inject massive capital in world banks brought confidence back to the markets Monday, pushing crude up more than 2.5 percent in morning trading to nearly $78 per barrel.