The 124th Meeting of the Conference of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) convened in Vienna, Austria, on March 11. In light of the supply/demand picture for the balance of the first quarter and the second quarter, the 11-member states decided to maintain, for the time being, the current OPEC production ceiling.
Having reviewed the current market situation and its immediate prospects, the Conference noted that, whilst prices have been influenced by market fundamentals, the current high price levels above the OPEC price band are predominantly a reflection of uncertainties resulting from prevailing geopolitical tensions.
The forecast of global oil demand growth for 2003 has been adjusted upwards by some 80,000 barrels per day (bpd), mostly on expectations of further gains in Chinese demand. Other influences include a stronger-than-expected winter heating demand, fuel switching into oil in Japan and the US offset downward adjustments in OECD Europe. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
