Venezuela's oil minister has said there is a consensus within the OPEC to slash production on April 1. Speaking in Cairo, Rafael Ramirez also said that moves towards raising the oil cartel's price target were gathering steam.
OPEC members are currently producing more than two million barrels per day above their quotas.
At a meeting in February in Algiers, the 11-member OPEC decided to reduce from April 1 its production ceiling by one million barrels per day, from 24.5 million to 23.5 million bpd.
OPEC decided the cut over fears that oil prices could crash in the second quarter, because of lower demand as the winter season ends in the northern hemisphere.
Ramirez said current prices close to $37 per barrel were high but fair, because the weaker dollar was affecting Venezuela's economy.
He said the idea of raising the price band sought by OPEC for its reference basket of crudes, set at between $22 and $28 per barrel since 2000, was making its way inside the cartel. Prices have been hovering close to or over the upper limit of the present band for more than a year.
