Iran wants OPEC slash output

Iran's OPEC governor, Mohammad Ali Khatibi, is calling on the cartel to cut production by a further 1 to 1.5 million barrels per day when it meets in Cairo later this month.

OPEC, which produces about 40 percent of the world's crude oil, decided to cut production by 1.5 million barrels a day last month in response to a dramatic fall in oil prices from a record $147 last July to below $70 last month.

Khatibi says oil prices have continued to decline and there is a need for a new decision to slash output further.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell $1.20 to settle at $57.04 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday.