Crude oil rose the most in a week, surpassing $60 a barrel, on speculation that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will cut production.

A majority of OPEC’s members support reducing output by 1 million barrels a day, or 3.6%, Algeria’s state news agency reported, citing unnamed people. Kuwaiti and Qatari officials said there was no agreement to cut output. Nigeria and Venezuela said last week they will cut production by a combined 170,000 barrels a day.

“Prices are rising because of the news circulating in the market about OPEC making a cut of 1 million barrels a day,” the vice president for energy risk management at Fimat USA, Michael Fitzpatrick, said.”The plan expands on token cutbacks announced last week by Nigeria and Venezuela.”

The Kuwaiti and Iranian oil ministers have said that they want oil above $60 a barrel. The economies of Persian Gulf oil producers are booming because oil prices have climbed from less than $20 a barrel at the end of 2001. Arab states will earn as much as $500 billion from oil sales this year, the International Monetary Fund forecast in June.

Crude oil for November delivery rose 69 cents, or 1.2%, to $60.10 a barrel at 12:05 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices touched $57.75 yesterday, the lowest since February 16. Futures have declined 23% from a record $78.40 a barrel on July 14 as tensions in the Middle East eased and fuel stockpiles increased.

“It’s speculated that the price they are trying to defend is more like $55 a barrel as an immediate short-term target,” an economist at Societe Generale, Deborah White, said. “That makes a lot of sense. I was surprised that we hung around at $58.”