Opec cutbacks boost oil price

THE OPEC countries achieved more than 90 per cent compliance with their self-imposed cutbacks in oil production, Iran's oil minister said yesterday.

The comments by Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, who is also chairman of Opec's market monitoring committee, should help buoy oil prices at their current 22-month high.

The benchmark price of Brent crude has risen by 80 per cent to $20.70 this year after Opec pledged in March to cut production by 4.3 million barrels a day, or 6 per cent of world production.