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OPEC crude down 21 pct in January - report

VIENNA, Feb 10 (KUNA) -- The OPEC Reference Basket (ORB) declined by around 21 percent to average USD 26.50/b in January, the organization said in its monthly report Wednesday.
It pointed out that the ongoing excess supply, the weakening Chinese economy and lower seasonal heating demand continued to weigh on the market.
Crude oil futures prices also declined significantly, with ICE Brent down USD 6.98 to average USD 31.93/b and Nymex WTI losing USD 5.67 to average USD 31.66/b. The Brent-WTI spread narrowed to just 15آ¢/b.
The report also noted that the world economic growth has been revised down to 2.9 percent for 2015 and 3.2 percent for 2016.
OECD growth in 2016 has been revised lower to 2.0 percent, the same pace as in the previous year. In the emerging economies, China's growth in 2016 has been revised down slightly to 6.3 percent while India's growth has been revised lower to 7.5 percent. Meanwhile, increasing difficulties in both Brazil and Russia are seen pushing both economies into recession for the second consecutive year.
With regard to world oil demand, it pointed to a growth in 2015 is expected to increase by 1.54 mb/d, unchanged from the previous report, to average 92.96 mb/d.
"In 2016, world oil demand is expected to grow by 1.25 mb/d, representing a marginal lower adjustment of 10 tb/d from the previous forecast, to average 94.21 mb/d. Non-OECD countries will continue to contribute the bulk of oil demand growth this year," reads the report.
It stated that the non-OPEC oil supply growth in 2015 has been revised up by 90 tb/d to 1.32 mb/d, mostly driven by higher-than-expected fourth quarter data.
In 2016, non-OPEC oil supply is projected to decline by 0.70 mb/d, following a downward revision of 40 tb/d, mainly due to announced capex cuts by international oil companies, the fall in active drilling rigs in the US and Canada, and a heavy annual decline in older fields, it revealed.
It also projected that OPEC NGL production would grow by 0.17 mb/d in 2016, up from 0.15 mb/d last year. In January, OPEC crude production increased by 131 tb/d to average 32.33 mb/d, according to secondary sources.
On the balance of supply and demand on world oil market, the report clarified that the demand for OPEC crude in 2015 is estimated to average 29.8 mb/d, representing an increase of 0.1 mb/d over the previous year and lower by 0.1 mb/d compared to the previous report.
"The global oversupply for 2015 is estimated at 2.0 mb/d. In 2016, demand for OPEC crude is expected at 31.6 mb/d, a gain of 1.8 mb/d, higher than last year," added the report. (end) amg.ibi