<br/>Provided by 7DAYS.ae<br/><br/>The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) yesterday lowered its forecast for global growth in oil demand this year, the latest sign that record-high oil prices are putting the brakes on consumption. World oil demand will rise by 1.16 million barrels per day (bpd) this year led by Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, 40,000 bpd less than the previous forecast, OPEC said in its monthly bulletin for May.<br/>The report by OPEC’s economists underlines the group’s view that factors beyond oil supply and demand are driving oil prices to all-time highs. Crude oil hit a record high of $126.98 a barrel earlier this week. “Oil demand growth is expected to experience the typical seasonal low consumption in the second quarter,” the report said.<br/>“This year’s summer driving season is not likely to show its normal annual growth due to the anticipated weaker gasoline demand in the US,” it added.<br/>Oil’s climb has brought more calls from industrialised countries, such as the US, for OPEC to increase oil output. But OPEC says factors like the weakness of the dollar, speculative trading and political tension are lifting prices, not a lack of oil.<br/>Yesterday’s report dusted off another factor OPEC has frequently cited for oil’s rally - a lack of capacity at oil refineries and its impact on the crude oil market. The rising premium of higher-quality crudes to lower-quality grades reflected a shortage of refineries able to make light products, such as gasoline, from lower-quality crude, OPEC said.<br/>Its adjustment was much smaller than that of the International Energy Agency, which cut its own forecast by 230,000 bpd.<br/><br/>Read more UAE News on <a href="http://www.7days.ae/showstory.php?id=72712">www.7days.ae</a><br/>
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