AFP, Vienna :
The OPEC oil cartel trimmed its 2014 forecast for global oil demand growth Friday after weaker-than-expected economic growth in rich countries in the second quarter and a “fragile” worldwide recovery.
The Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries said it now expects demand to grow by 1.10 million barrels per day (mbd) to 91.11 mbd, down from a previous projection of 91.13 mbd.
In its new monthly report OPEC, which pumps a third of the world’s crude, stuck however to its forecast that demand would grow by 1.12 mbd in 2015 to 92.32 mbd.
It kept unchanged its forecasts for global economic growth of 3.1 percent and 3.4 percent for 2014 and 2015 respectively, saying the “slow and uneven recovery” was continuing.
