The rise in oil prices towards $19 a barrel yesterday indicated that some traders are taking seriously the latest efforts by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries to trim output in an attempt to achieve a target level of at least $21 a barrel.

For the last three months, a few of OPEC's top representatives have argued that their oil-producing cartel, which pumps nearly 4 of every 10 barrels of oil produced around the world, needs to trim output to avert a potential oil glut and a - highly hypothetical - price collapse.

Within the sector, manufacturers trimmed output by 0.2% in November but the continued decline, after a 0.9% fall in October, underlined the fragility of the sector that the government hoped would lead Britain's recovery.

But at a meeting here today, officials said the group would be willing to pare daily production by 1.5 million barrels by the beginning of next year only if non-OPEC nations, including Norway, Mexico and Russia, also trimmed output by a total of 500,000 barrels a day.

The 13-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries pledged to trim output by about 6 percent, to about 22 million barrels a day in May and June, to sustain oil prices.

Since then, the No. 1 auto maker has been fumbling its way toward competitiveness by trimming jobs and output.

If companies decide today that they must cut back on borrowing, their canceled orders will slowly trickle back to factories, which will gradually trim output and hiring.

Detroit manufacturers adjust to large inventories by trimming output in the United States.