Vienna - Oil ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) set to meet Friday in Vienna were expected to cut oil production in reaction to falling prices and slowing demand.

Several of the cartel's 13 members had indicated before the meeting that they were in favour of lowering the group's joint output by at least 1 million barrels per day. One barrel equals 159 litres.

Since mid-October, the basket price of OPEC crude has hovered below 70 dollars per barrel, down from its July high of 140.73 dollars.

Vienna - Two days before the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was set to meet in Vienna to discuss production cuts, the cartel's basket price fell by 3.53 dollars Wednesday.

Pulled down by falling stock markets and reports of growing stocks and slowing demand in the United States, one barrel (159 litres) of OPEC crude stood at 60.82 dollars at mid-week, compared with 64.35 dollars on the previous day.

India’s state-run power generator NTPC Ltd has revealed its plans to raise up to Rs 4,500 crore from domestic as well as international markets for meeting its expansion plans in the current financial year.

The company intends to raise up to $500 million from the global market by March, to support their expansion plan.

The company also plans to raise Rs 2,000 crore from the domestic market through private placement of bonds.

NTPC stock ended the day at Rs 144, down 5% compared to its previous close of Rs 152.