81.   A possible glitch in the seemingly irresistible momentum toward OPEC production cuts has come in the form of a protest by Iraq.

82.   A United Arab Emirates delegate said the ministers wanted first to agree to various production cuts in informal sessions.

83.   Abraham expressed confidence that the U.S. economy can withstand the latest OPEC production cuts.

84.   Additional production cuts were unlikely, the source said.

85.   Ali Naimi made his remarks after the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council called for production cuts at the end of their two-day summit in Bahrain.

86.   After their talks, Steensnaes and Mexican Oil Minister Ernesto Martens stressed that a precondition for any new production cuts was participation by other countries.

87.   Although the production cut helped reverse a slide in oil prices earlier this year, recent surveys show that OPEC members continue to exceed their official quotas.

88.   Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil, who holds the presidency of OPEC, said this weekend that the organization was still studying production cuts ahead of an upcoming meeting.

89.   All the talk about big production cuts has pushed futures prices higher.

90.   Analysts said only fresh production cuts would raise the low prices that are making gasoline cheap for consumers, but are hurting economies in OPEC countries.