Oil producers including Gulf Opec members support holding talks next month on a deal to freeze output even if Iran declines to participate, Opec sources said, as political pressure to prop up prices increases.

Some Gulf oil producers are concerned about the latest drop in oil prices, said Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) delegates, but they see little chance of the group diverting from its policy of defending market share.

Brent crude oil traded below $60 a barrel yesterday, near five-and-a-half-year lows, as major oil producers signalled that they would maintain output despite a supply glut and faltering demand in Russia and Europe.

US AND British forces yesterday tightened their grip on Iraq’s southern oil region and began assessing how to restart exports from fields holding more than half the country’s oil wealth.