The Saudi oil minister, Ali Naimi, has toured neighbouring Gulf states to secure support for a new round of cuts in oil production aimed at raisingprices.

After brief visits to Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, he said all three had shown a willingness to contribute.

Qatar said it would cut its daily output by twenty-thousand barrels from next month.

The tour by Mr Naimi came only three days after Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and non-Opec member Mexico agreed in Amsterdam to reduce output by a combined total of five-hundred-and-fifty-thousand barrels-per-day.