OPEC oil ministers agreed to a deal to cut oil production by 1.5 million bpd (barrels per day).

Some hawks in the 11-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting countries, which controls around a fifth of world supplies, had been advocating a bigger cut still.

But after a series of bilateral meetings Tuesday in luxury hotel suites across Vienna, hawks like Qatar and Iran — who wanted a 2 million bpd reduction — were ready to accept a lower figure.

«The cut is not going to have a negative impact on consumers,» said Leo Drollas, chief of the London-based Centre for Global Energy Strategies. «It's not too bad. It could have been worse.»

The United States and the European Union had urged producers to make only a modest reduction.

After the deal U.S. light crude eased 54 cents a barrel to $29.75. London Brent blend lost 51 cents to $25.00.

«This agreement will keep oil prices stable and not harm producers or consumers,» said Libya's OPEC representative Ahmed Abdulkarim.