British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said it would be 'wrong' for the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) to cut production just as oil prices are falling.

'I'm concerned when I hear that the Opec countries are meeting, or are about to meet, to discuss cutting production - in other words, making the price potentially higher than it should be,' Brown told reporters.

'So I'm making it clear to Opec also today that it would be wrong for the world economy - wrong for British people who are paying high petrol prices and high fuel prices at the moment - for Opec to cut production.'

In response to deep price falls this week, several Opec ministers said supply should be cut and the group has called an emergency meeting on November 18 in Vienna to discuss the impact of the financial crisis.

Qatar's Oil Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah said earlier on Friday that Opec would discuss whether to cut oil production to balance supply and demand when it meets next month.

He told Al Arabiya television that there could be a 'huge decline' in crude oil prices if Opec did not devise a quick plan to counter the impact of the global financial crisis. - Reuters