OPEC Points to Weaker Crude Demand Outlook as It Keeps Lid on Supply - Bloomberg

OPEC Points to Weaker Crude Demand Outlook as It Keeps Lid on Supply - Bloomberg

OPEC downgraded the outlook for demand for its crude over the next two quarters, in keeping with the group’s plans to keep a tight rein on supply.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries trimmed estimates for the amount of crude it will need to pump in the second quarter by 690,000 barrels a day, amid a weaker picture for demand and stronger growth in rival supply.

“Ongoing lockdown measures, voluntary social distancing and other pandemic-related developments” continue to weigh on economic activity, the group’s Vienna-based research department said in its monthly report. Conditions should improve in the second half of 2021, it added.

The wariness is consistent with last week’s decision by Saudi Arabia and its fellow producers across the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies. The coalition surprised traders and propelled prices to a 14-month high above $70 a barrel by largely refraining from restoring any more of the production halted during the coronavirus.