Opec agrees to leave output quotas unchanged

London : The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), content with oil prices exceeding $80 a barrel, decided for the fifth time since 2008 to keep its production limits unchanged amid signs that a worldwide glut of crude is disappearing along with the recession.

Ministers from Opec's 12 member countries agreed as expected to stand by the output quota at their meeting yesterday in Vienna, according to Libyan delegate Shokri Ganem.

Opec reaffirmed the quotas at every meeting since they were set in December 2008, even though the group is exceeding the limits by the equivalent of a supertanker of crude a day. Opec, supplying about 40 per cent of the world's oil, set its official cap at 24.845 million barrels a day.

"Opec has obviously been quite happy with the current price range," said Mike Wittner, head of oil research at Societe Generale SA.