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TEHRAN - IRAN on Sunday predicted that Opec would cut oil output at its November meeting in Vienna, the state-run television news website reported.
'Opec will probably seek a cut in its production at the November meeting in order to balance supply and demand,' Iran's Opec representative Mohammad Ali Khatibi was quoted as saying.
'No one is expecting an increase in production at the upcoming meeting. It is clear everyone thinks of a decrease in production and that the market needs to be managed,' said Mr Khatibi, whose country is the cartel's second-largest producer.
On Thursday, Opec announced it would hold an emergency meeting in Vienna on November 18, as member countries fret over the effects of the global financial crisis on crude prices.
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries' next regular meeting is scheduled for December 17 in Oran, Algeria.
And on Saturday, the cartel called for tougher regulations to reduce the impact of speculative investment in the oil market that it blames for the huge volatility in crude prices.
Oil peaked at a record high above US$147 (S$217) in July but has since plunged back below US$80 a barrel as the financial crisis rocking markets slows economic growth and demand for energy.
Iran has said that a price under US$100 per barrel was 'unsuitable'.
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