OPEC may hike production for 3Q

Cartel chief says prices stable, spare capacity should be saved for strong end-of-year demand. OPEC does not need to increase oil production now but will need to raise supply by more than a million barrels per day (bpd) for the third quarter, the group’s president said Tuesday.

“We have to be patient during this time and for the second quarter because prices have not increased,” Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah told reporters.

“But I believe there will be an increase in production at the end of the second quarter because the market will need it,” said Sheikh Ahmad, who is also Kuwait’s oil minister.