OPEC sees lower demand as U.S. crude output rises

OPEC trimmed estimates for the amount of crude it will need to pump this year amid rising U.S. supplies, and predicted that a “supply buffer” will accumulate before demand peaks in the summer, reports Bloomberg.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), responsible for 40 percent of the world’s oil supply, will need to provide an average of 29.6 million barrels a day of crude this year, according to its monthly market report. The assessment is 100,000 barrels a day lower than last month’s because of higher output from the U.S. and Canada, and in line with the group’s March production level. Oil inventories, currently “tight,” will rebuild as demand sags in the second quarter, it said.