Opec is unlikely to lower its oil production ceiling when the group meets in November, a senior Iranian oil official said, in comments that reduced the likelihood of any collective Opec action to support prices.

Iran is normally among the first members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to call for action to support prices. Iran needs relatively high prices as Western sanctions limit its oil exports, analysts say.

But Iranian oil ministry news agency Shana on Monday cited Mohsen Qamsari, director for international affairs at the National Iranian Oil Company, as saying a cut was unlikely at Opec's Nov. 27 meeting.

He also said an emergency Opec meeting before then, called for by Venezuela, was not necessary.

"Holding a meeting now is ineffective," he said, according to Shana.

The meeting on Nov. 27 in Vienna is shaping up to be one of Opec's most important in years. Brent oil slid to $85 barrel last week from $115 in June on abundant supply and concerns about weakening demand.

With a month still to go, there is little outward sign that any momentum could be building around the idea of cutting output, which would be the first such move since the 2008 financial crisis.

Top Opec producer Saudi Arabia has been quietly telling market participants it is comfortable with lower prices, Reuters reported earlier this month. Kuwait has said an Opec cut is unlikely.

Amid little sign of support within Opec for a cut, sources familiar with Iranian thinking on Opec policy started saying earlier this month that Iran could live with lower prices.

Iran should set a budget based on much lower oil prices, Qamsari said in separately reported remarks on Monday.

"Iran should arrange its next fiscal year's budget based on $70 to $75 a barrel," the official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying. – Reuters