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e datetime="00Z">November 21, 2001 11:45 AM, EST

One week after Russia declined to substantially trim its daily oil output in cooperation with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the No. 2 oil exporter said it has not ruled out cutting oil production to help prop up sagging prices, Bloomberg reported.

ussia, which exports 9% of the world’s oil, last week said it would only cut 30,000 barrels a day, or 0.5%, a figure that many analysts called a token cut.

PEC said a Russian cut of about 200,000 barrels a day would be more “reasonable.”

At the same time, Russia has lowered its oil price estimate for next year to between $14.50 and $18.50 a barrel, Bloomberg said.

If prices fall below $16.50 a barrel, Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said, the country could be forced to seek International Monetary Fund assistance.