LONDON: Opec does not need to raise oil output at a meeting on September 11, despite calls from consumers for more crude to lower prices from near a record high, an Opec delegate said yesterday.
The comments are the latest indication that Opec, source of more than a third of the world’s oil, is holding firm in the face of calls from the US and the International Energy Agency for higher oil output.
“As the market stands today, I don’t see any increase in production needed,” said the delegate, who declined to be identified by name. “We believe the market is well supplied.”
The delegate said he expected prices to ease further from the record high of $78.77 a barrel reached on August 1 as factors unrelated to supply and demand, such as speculation and “consumer anxieties”, had pushed prices up.
“We see the price easing in coming days. I don’t see any reason prices should be at this level.”
US crude was trading at $72.13 a barrel, down 29¢ in the afternoon.
By consumer anxieties, the delegate was referring to projections of rising world oil demand from the IEA, adviser to 26 industrialised countries, and other forecasters that are higher than Opec’s expectations.
The Paris-based IEA on July 13 predicted world oil demand will grow by 2.2mn barrels per day next year, much more than Opec’s forecast for expansion of 1.34mn bpd.
“Consumers have been very anxious in the past few months and that has added some premium to the price,” said the delegate.
Opec decided last year to lower output by 1.7mn bpd to bolster prices. Outside estimates indicate most members – including top world exporter Saudi Arabia – are keeping a lid on supply.
The 10 Opec members bound by output targets, all except Iraq and Angola, pumped 26.75mn bpd in July, up 150,000 bpd from June, according to a Reuters survey. – Reuters |
