Oil Jumps to 2-Month High as Rising Demand May Tax OPEC Supply

Crude oil rose to the highest in more than two months amid signs that surging global fuel consumption will tax the production capacity of OPEC and other exporters.

Fourth-quarter demand will average 85.91 million barrels a day, a monthly report by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries showed. Members need to pump 30.6 million barrels a day in the quarter, 100,000 barrels more than forecast last month. OPEC, which raised output quotas yesterday, pumped 29.9 million barrels a day in May, Bloomberg figures show.

“It’s still too early to tell if there will be enough fuel in the fourth quarter,” said Jim Steel, director of commodity research at Refco Inc. in New York. “The quota increase implies that OPEC will raise output further, making more oil available to refiners.”

Bloomberg