OPEC oil producers have agreed a surprise cut in supplies to defend high crude prices despite the approach of peak winter demand.
Ministers decided to remove 900,000 a barrels per day from supply limits for 10 members, excluding Iraq, said Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah.
The decision, expected to be ratified later today, looks set to raise energy costs for oil importing nations during the northern hemisphere winter. US light crude futures quickly jumped a dollar a barrel to $27.99 a barrel.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries had seen world oil prices ease this month to four-month lows, despite a sluggish recovery in post-war Iraqi output. It aims to keep prices in a $22-$28 band.
Iraq, attending its first OPEC meeting since US occupation, reassured fellow members that Washington's influence would not prevent it staying in the cartel.
