OPEC output tapering off toward 10-year low point

Oil production by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is approaching its lowest levels for more than 10 years, Petroleum Intelligence Weekly said. The newsletter said the latest oil industry estimates suggest that current OPEC output could be as low as 22 million barrels per day, compared with 30 million barrels in the first months of 1980.

A majority of OPEC states agreed to cut output in May by a minimum of 10 percent because of the world oil glut, estimated at between 2 and 3 million barrels a day.

Meanwhile, Mexico, America's fourth largest foreign oil supplier, decided to raise its crude by $2 a barrel as of Wednesday, partly reversing its recent reduction of $4 a barrel. The price had cut met with political opposition at home and forced the resignation of the head of Petroleos Mexicanos, the state oil monopoly.