Oil ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) met Friday in Vienna to discuss cutting oil production in reaction to falling prices and slowing demand.
Several of the cartel's 13 members had indicated before the meeting that they were in favour of lowering the group's joint output by at least 1 million barrels per day. One barrel equals 159 litres.
OPEC, which produces around 40 per cent of global oil output, has seen its basket price hover below 70 dollars per barrel since mid- October, down from its July high of
140.73 dollars.
"If the price drops below 70 dollars, the oil industry falls into a crisis," Qatar's Energy Minister Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah told al-Arabiya TV before the meeting.
Such a low price would endanger investments, he explained.
The basket price dropped by 0.55 dollars Thursday, to 60.27 dollars a barrel.
Analysts said the cartel might have to slash production by more than 1 million barrels per day if it wanted to offset the negative effects that the global financial and economic crises and the strong dollar were having on oil prices.
The Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX) Tuesday said its derivatives and Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) markets set new trading records last year with volume surging to 
When the Spirit rover landed on Mars five years ago, no one expected it or its sister rover Opportunity to make it to their first birthdays, let alone their fifth.
The San Antonio Spurs turned up their trademark defense down the stretch to turn back another opponent. 
Popular US talk show host Oprah Winfrey, 54, has vowed to battle her recent weight gain, blaming it on "food abuse."
After the Taipei Zoo received two giant pandas from China, another Taiwan zoo said Friday it is seeking to receive a pair of pandas from China.