Iran's Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries governor said Tuesday that the oil market remains "oversupplied" despite a cut in production by the organization's members.
Late October, OPEC members agreed to cut 1.5 million barrels a day from the group's production. In a report last week, consultant PFC said OPEC members were showing "reasonably good compliance" with the decision.
Speaking to Dow Jones Newswires, Mohammad Ali Khatibi said: "If you can calculate the decline in world (oil) consumption, you arrive at a figure that's higher than 1.5 million" barrels a day.
"There is some indication that shows the market is still oversupplied," Khatibi said.
He spoke as the U.K.'s Brent crude prices fell Tuesday to below $55 a barrel, as optimism faded that a Chinese spending plan will avoid a prolonged slowdown in the global economy.