Doha, Qatar ? Oil cartel OPEC decided to cut production by a greater-than-expected 1.2 million barrels a day today, and some members indicated it was open to further cuts.

United Arab Emirates oil minister Mohammed bin Dhaen al-Hamili made the announcement at a news conference after OPEC’s oil ministers had an emergency meeting in the capital of Qatar.

Support for the move by the de facto leader of the cartel, Saudi Arabia oil minister Ali Naimi, shows the group’s unity on the issue of price, said one analyst after the announcement.

“If the market doesn’t stabilize, they are going to continue to cut production,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago. “Prices from $57 to $60 is an area they are willing to defend.”

Prices have declined more than 25 percent since mid-July. After the announcement, a barrel of light sweet crude rose 54 cents to $59.04 on the New York Mercantile Exchange from its close earlier Thursday at $58.50.

UAE’s Al-Hamili did not specify the amount of production that each member country would cut, but said the reductions will affect all countries except Iraq.

The cuts will come from actual production levels, he said, and are more than the 1 million barrels a day being called for earlier by cartel members.

OPEC currently is producing about 29.5 million barrels of oil per day.

The cuts are the first time OPEC has trimmed its output since December 2004, when oil traded slightly above $40 a barrel and the cartel lowered its quota by 1 million barrels a day.

However, many observers expect further production cuts.

Qatar’s Energy Minister Abdullah bin Hamid Al-Attiyah said the cartel’s members are not excluding making further cuts.