TheCable

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) raised output by 100,700 barrels a day to 31.5 million last month, the body said in its monthly market report.

In the report, the organisation responsible for 40 per cent of world oil supplies said it was expecting oil demand to grow by 1.38 million barrels per day.

OPEC also increased estimates for global oil demand in 2016 by about 100,000 barrels a day.

“Given the better-than-expected growth in global oil demand so far this year, together with some signs of a pickup in the economies of the major consuming countries, crude oil demand in the coming months should continue to improve and, thus, gradually reduce the imbalance in oil supply-demand fundamentals,” the report read.

This increase came even as Saudi Arabia, which often curbs output toward the end of peak summer demand, told OPEC that it cut production by the most in almost a year.

Saudi Arabia said it reduced its output in July by 202,700 barrels a day to 10.36 million – the biggest reduction since August 2014.

OPEC pumped the most crude last month in more than three years as Iran restored output to the highest level since international sanctions were strengthened in 2012.

Iran reached an accord with world powers on July 14 that may ease sanctions on its oil exports later this year in return for curbing nuclear activity.

In July, Iran increased output by 32,300 barrels a day to 2.86 million a day, the highest since June 2012.