Kuwaiti OPEC official: Oil freeze deal likely to be reached

KUWAIT CITY (AP) — Kuwait's OPEC governor is saying members of the oil cartel and other producing countries likely will reach a deal later this month to freeze production as crude prices sit below $40 a barrel.

The state-run Kuwait News Agency quoted Nawal al-Fuzai on Tuesday as saying that oil ministers of OPEC nations and several non-OPEC nations showed interest in freezing production at the same rate of February, but that further negotiations are ongoing.

Al-Fuzai says Iran remains a holdout on freezing production levels as it tries to recoup money lost to years of sanctions after its nuclear deal with world powers.

Officials will meet April 17 in Qatar to negotiate a deal on the proposed freeze aimed at bolstering prices that have fallen from over $100 a barrel in 2014.