ABU DHABI: The UAE’s energy minister said that current, low oil prices are forcing many producers to freeze output but that a correction in prices would take time.

Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC producer Russia agreed last month to freeze output at January levels to prop up prices if other nations agreed to join the first global oil pact in 15 years.

“I believe that the current oil prices are forcing everyone to freeze so I think it is happening as we speak. It doesnít make any sense for anyone to increase production at the current prices,” Suhail bin Mohammed Al-Mazrouei said.

“The majority of the world, 99.8 percent, maybe 99.9 percent, are not going to increase production. To the contrary many producing assets are losing now at the current oil prices... We are seeing a reduction and we will see a reduction in those fields,” he said.

“This is all good news toward balancing the market. We just need to be patient. It’s not happening in weeks or months. Correcting to a sustainable price will take time. I’m still optimistic that before the end of year we will see a correction.”

Front-month Brent crude futures were trading at $39.10 per barrel at 0745 GMT on Monday, up 38 cents from their last settlement and around a third higher than their January low, when prices fell to levels not seen since 2003.

Al-Mazrouei said he has not received an invitation yet for a meeting between OPEC and other leading oil producers about freezing oil output.