CAIRO (AP) — OPEC has held its projection for world oil demand steady for 2010, noting indications of improvements in the global economy but voicing concerns that oil recent price rally remains on shaky ground.
In its January Oil Market Report released on Tuesday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries projected the world economy would grow by 3.1 percent this year, up from its forecast of 2.9 percent last month.
The 12-member bloc, which supplies roughly 35 percent of the world’s crude, said world oil demand was expected to grow by 800,000 barrels per day in 2010, to 85.15 million barrels per day. That is steady with its December forecast.
But OPEC warnes that speculation was rife in the market and buoying crude prices. Oil is currently around $78 per barrel.