(Bloomberg) --

Saudi Arabia is pushing OPEC+ to agree on an oil-output cut of more than 1 million barrels a day to compensate for the demand hit from the global spread of the coronavirus, delegates said.

Brent crude jumped as much as 2% in London to $52.89 a barrel.

Oil suffered its biggest slump since the global financial crisis last week. To boost prices, ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies are meeting in Vienna to discuss a deeper supply reduction. The group must still overcome Russian resistance to larger curbs, while also grappling with the risks of bringing together delegations from 23 nations as the deadly disease continues to spread.

The Russians are likely to wait until the last moment to make a decision on any oil-output cuts, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh told reporters as he arrived in the Austrian capital on Wednesday.

Experts from OPEC+ recommended that oil ministers consider a sizable production cut. After a meeting on Tuesday -- overshadowed by the logistical difficulties of gathering amid a raging global outbreak -- the group’s Joint Technical Committee suggested an additional reduction in supply of between 600,000 and 1 million barrels a day during the second quarter.

To contact the reporters on this story: Grant Smith in London at gsmith52@bloomberg.net;Salma El Wardany in Cairo at selwardany@bloomberg.net;Will Kennedy in London at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Herron at jherron9@bloomberg.net

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