OPEC expects world oil demand to grow by nearly 1.9 million barrels a day in the third quarter this year on the back of strong economic growth, the oil producer cartel said in its monthly oil market report today.
The report from OPEC said the cartel expected third quarter world oil demand to rise to 80.18 million bpd, up from 78.3 million in the second quarter.
The group saw another jump in fourth quarter demand to 82.44 million bpd, putting total world demand growth this year at 2.3 per cent - the strongest in seven years, the report said.
Oil prices have risen to 21-year highs as low fuel stocks during the seasonal second-quarter demand lull sharpen concern over global supplies later in the year when demand rises.
OPEC said that the rise in oil prices, above $41 a barrel for US crude, did not appear to be hurting world economic growth, especially when a fall in the value of the dollar over the last year was taken into account.
"It seems unlikely that the current strong momentum of the world economy has been greatly restrained by such a limited increase in the real oil price," OPEC said.
Ministers use the OPEC Secretariat report as part of their production policy calculations. The group will meet informally later this week on the sidelines of a conference in Amsterdam.