OPEC to curb shipments amid demand slump, Oil Movements says
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will reduce crude shipments into mid-June as demand growth slows, tanker tracker Oil Movements said.The group that supplies about 40% of the world’s oil will ship 23.91 million barrels a day in the four weeks to June 15, compared with 24.12 million in the previous period to May 18, the researcher said in an e-mailed report. The figures exclude two of OPEC’s 12 members, Angola and Ecuador. The organization will meet in Vienna tomorrow to discuss its production target, which is currently 30 million barrels a day.
Demand from western nations is “limping,” reducing imports from the Middle East and West Africa, Roy Mason, the company’s founder, said today by telephone from Halifax, England. “There is no spectacular increase in supply.”
Middle Eastern shipments will slip by 1.1% to 17.58 million barrels a day, compared with 17.78 million in the month to May 18, according to Oil Movements. That figure includes non-OPEC nations Oman and Yemen.
Crude on board tankers will advance 1.7% to 476.96 million barrels versus 468.88 million in the previous period, data from Oil Movements show. The researcher calculates the volumes by tallying tanker bookings. Its figures exclude crude held on vessels for storage....MORE
