Russia says it is cutting oil output

Russia announced Sunday that it is cutting oil exports - welcome news for OPEC oil ministers looking for ways to bolster prices by reducing supply without further hurting the global economy.

Russian Deputy Premier Igor Sechin spoke to oil ministers of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries before they decide how best to support prices without sending a new shock through economies of major consumer countries battling with the fallout of the financial meltdown.

Russia will “be cutting oil exports while increasing domestic consumption and expanding oil refining, said Sechin, adding that his country also would delay the development of two oil fields in the northwest.

And he told the OPEC meeting that Russian oil production had already decreased by 1.9 percent in the first two months of the year.

Read more: Washington Times or Tehran Times