Oil prices drop as Iran raises output

NEW YORK, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices dropped Monday as Iran planned to increase its production to the level before the sanction.

Iran reportedly said Monday that it intended to ramp its production level back up to 4 million barrels a day.

Saudi Arabia and Russia announced in the middle of February that they would halt production increases as long as other major producers followed suit.

In February, crude production from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decreased by 175,000 barrels to average 32.28 million barrels per day, according to OPEC's report released Monday.

The West Texas Intermediate for April delivery moved down 1.32 U.S. dollars to settle at 37.18 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for May delivery decreased 86 cents to close at 39.53 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.