Opec to maintain limits on oil output

OPEC, producer of a third of the world’s oil, agreed to maintain its production limits and meet again to consider cutbacks to prevent a drop in prices, the group’s secretary-general said.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries quota of 24.5 million barrels a day will stay in place, OPEC’s Alvaro Silva said in a telephone interview from Vienna, where the group is meeting. OPEC remains concerned rising supplies from Iraq and Russia and a second-quarter drop in use will cause prices to slide. Brent crude lost 1.7% in London on the accord.

Oil prices this year are set for their highest average in two decades because of OPEC restraint and surging demand in China.