Iran's OPEC governor said Tuesday the crude oil market is oversupplied and may warrant an output cut at the group's next meeting in May, adding that oil prices above $50 a barrel would be needed to encourage future investment in the energy sector.
"Expert analyses show that recent stock levels in Organization for Economic Cooperation, or OECD, countries have increased," Mohammad Ali Khatibi told Dow Jones Newswires by phone Tuesday.
"Based on my past experience, when the ministers are persuaded that the market is oversupplied, usually OPEC cuts," he said.
OPEC has announced three production cuts since September to take a total 4.2 million barrels a day of crude out of the market in a bid to reverse an oil price slump of as much as $100 a barrel from record highs in July to below $40 a barrel late last year. Crude prices are currently hovering around $50 a barrel.