OPEC to make sharp cut in oil demand forecast

OPEC will cut its 2009 oil demand forecast this week, the group’s secretary general said on Monday, a move that may lend support to calls from some members for further supply curbs at a meeting on Sunday.

OPEC expects the slowing global economy to burn a million barrels per day (bpd) less oil than the producer group forecast just a month ago, Abdullah al-Badri told reporters in Qatar on the sidelines of an energy conference.

Badri, who has previously said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries may lower supply further when it meets in Vienna on Sunday, reiterated that an additional curb was among its choices.
Reuters