A general view of the Abadan oil refinery in southwest Iran, as seen from the Iraqi side of the Shatt al-Arab, Sept. 21, 2019. Photo: Reuters / Essam Al-Sudani.

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Monday that the spread of China’s new coronavirus had hit oil demand and called for an effort to stabilize oil prices, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported.

The minister also said Iran would agree to an earlier OPEC meeting if the rest of the group’s members agreed to oil production cuts.

OPEC and its allies, a group know as OPEC+, are considering meeting in February instead of March.

“The oil market is under pressure and prices have dropped to under $60 a barrel and efforts must be made to balance it,” Zanganeh said.