IEA edges up oil demand outlook, urges OPEC to boost output

PARIS, May 15 (AFP): Demand for oil this year will be slightly higher than expected, the IEA forecast on Thursday, highlighting signs of tension in the market and urging OPEC to raise output.
Oil prices are expected to remain high, and the IEA said that OPEC should raise production sharply to keep world oil markets well-supplied in the face of what would be record global demand.
But strong demand in the first quarter is predicted to slow down for the rest of the year because a weaker outlook for global economic growth would weigh on consumption.
OPEC production had fallen to a five-month low point in March but surged by 405,000 barrels per day (bd) in April to 29.90 million barrels per day (mbd), the agency said, close to the OPEC ceiling.
The IEA expects OPEC ministers to maintain the production ceiling of the world's top oil producing group at 30 mbd in Vienna meeting on June 11, noting that Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali Naimi had said that "supply is sufficient" and there was "absolutely no reason" to raise the limit.
The International Energy Agency raised its forecast for global demand by 65,000 bd to 92.8 million barrels, largely because of unexpectedly strong demand in the first quarter, driven by consumption in the US economy.