The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed at its 168th meeting to increase the cap on oil production to 31.5 million barrels a day.
The announcement caused oil prices to slide further on world markets.
Reuters reported on Friday December 4 that the OPEC announcement drove down the price of Brent Crude nearly two dollars a barrel to about $43.
At the last OPEC meeting, the cap was set at 30 million barrels a day, and analysts had speculated that the current meeting would bring no change or even a decrease.
With the lifting of international sanctions, Iran has been looking to increase its oil exports so it welcomes the increase in the OPEC cap.
The oil-producing countries that comprise OPEC are Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Algeria, the United Arabic Emirates, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Ecuador, Angola and Venezuela.