OPEC members agreed March 31 to cut oil output by 4 percent, which represents a reduction in output of 1 million barrels per day starting April 1.

By following through on its Feb. 10 agreement to cut its production target, OPEC risks driving up crude prices toward $40 per barrel. That could damage the global economy and the long-term demand for oil, John Waterlow, an analyst at Wood Mackenzie Consultants in Edinburgh, Scotland, said in a report from The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, the move bodes ill for owner-operators who continue to cope with a steady climb in diesel prices. On March 29, the Department of Energy reported the average U.S. retail price of diesel fuel rose to $1.642 from the previous average of $1.641.

The highest prices were in California, at $1.889; New England, at $1.757; the Central Atlantic region, at $1.729; and on the West Coast, where the average price is $1.817.

OPEC supplies about a third of the world's oil. Its current output target is 24.5 million barrels per day. OPEC says investors and speculators have boosted the prices to their highest levels since the 1991 Gulf War.

OPEC was reportedly faced with the task of carefully balancing consumers' need for lower prices with its member countries' fears that increasing stocks and a seasonal lull in demand could reduce prices too much, The AP reported.

Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiya of Qatar said OPEC was "trying to avoid a (price) shock."

"We don't want to wake up with a disaster," he told The AP.

If the group had postponed its promised cut, it might have hurt its credibility and might oversupply the market just as demand starts to slow in the second quarter. The result could have been "a precipitous fall" in prices that OPEC wants to avoid, Waterlow said.

Crude reached a 13-year peak of $38.35 per barrel March 17, with the futures price for May delivery around $36.30 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the issue is taking on political tones.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, urged President Bush to pressure OPEC to boost production in an effort to increase oil supplies. Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry said he would pressure OPEC to provide more oil, simplify rules on fuel to reduce costs and develop more energy-efficient vehicles if elected.