The FINANCIAL — The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said on June 10 it sees no further rise in demand for its crude this year, but it expects the current oversupply in the market to ease over the coming quarters, according to Nasdaq.
In its closely watched monthly oil market report, OPEC kept its forecast for oil demand growth in 2015 unchanged at 1.18 million barrels a day, and said expectations of demand for its own oil this year remains at 29.3 million barrels a day, or 300,000 higher than 2014.
The oil producer group said risks in U.S. oil demand remain skewed to the upside as lower price environment plays a role in pushing up demand for transportation fuels, as Americans buy more gas guzzling sport-utility vehicles. It expects, however, the increase in non-OPEC crude oil output to remain unchanged at 680,000 barrels a day this year.
OPEC, which pumps about a third of the world's crude, said its total production rose by 24,000 barrels a day in May to 30.98 million barrels compared with April, driven mainly by higher output from Iraq and Angola.
Iraq produced 3.8 million barrels a day in May, up from 3.695 million barrels in the previous month, OPEC said citing secondary sources other than its producing countries such as shippers, analysts and industry sources.
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, told the cartel it produced 10.333 million barrels a day last month, up from 10.308 million barrels a day in April.
Despite the unchanged demand outlook and increasing supples, OPEC said it expected that the world's oversupply of crude oil–now estimated at about 2 million barrels a day–is "likely to ease over the coming quarters." OPEC still forecasts U.S. production to decline in the third quarter.
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