OPEC Highlights Demand Uncertainty Before Crucial Meeting

  • June 22-23 gathering will debate whether to boost oil output
  • Group sees a wide range of demand forecasts for second half
OPEC Cites Demand Uncertainty Ahead of Production Decision
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OPEC emphasized the deep uncertainty over the strength of demand for its oil just a week before contentious talks on whether to raise production.

There’s a “wide forecast range” for how much crude the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries needs to pump in the second half of the year, its research department said in a monthly report. With a range of of 1.7 million barrels a day between the upper and lower estimates, demand could either be significantly higher, or slightly below, than OPEC’s current output.