QUITO (Reuters) – Ecuador’s oil minister Germanico Pinto told Reuters on Friday that there was no need for an output cut at OPEC's March 17 meeting and that crude prices were “relatively stable.”

Pinto, who holds the rotating presidency of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries this year, said that there was no plan to cut back production at the upcoming meeting in Vienna.
“No (cut) is expected,” Pinto said. “Prices are relatively stable.”
NYMEX crude futures rose 1.6 percent to $81.50 a barrel on Friday, their highest settlement since Jan. 11.