Oil Prices Top $53 On Talk Of OPEC Output Cut

Oil prices gained more ground on Tuesday following a report that Iran has asked the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut output. The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran's oil minister called on the oil cartel to reduce production by at least 5% to boost prices that have collapse since last summer. OPEC members will hold their next meeting in June. Meanwhile, a Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials and analysts released Tuesday showed that OPEC output totaled 30.72 million barrels a day in March, up 800,000 barrels a day from February and the highest monthly volume since November 2012. May crude traded at $53.55 a barrel on Nymex, up $1.64, or 3.2%.