OPEC secretary general expects oversupply in oil market next year

OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said on Tuesday that he expects an oil supply surplus as early as December and the market to remain oversupplied next year. "The surplus is already beginning in December.

OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said on Tuesday that he expects an oil supply surplus as early as December and the market to remain oversupplied next year.

"The surplus is already beginning in December. These are signals that we have to be very, very careful," he said. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) last week cut its world oil demand forecast for the fourth quarter by 330,000 barrels per day (bpd) from last month's forecast, as high energy prices hampered economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fears of falling demand come as supplies are expected to rise. Oil rebounded from a weak start on Tuesday as worries over tight inventories underpinned prices, although optimism was limited by fears over demand following a pickup in COVID-19 cases in Europe.

OPEC has a vested interest to ensure that the global economic recovery continues, Barkindo added while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Abu Dhabi.

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