NEW YORK, Nov. 18 (Agencies) – The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries says the current downward trend of oil prices will not increase worldwide demand.
Oil prices continued to drop on Monday with the Brent North Sea crude for January delivery falling 1.13 dollars to 53.11 dollars per barrel on London's InterContinental Exchange.
The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) also saw light sweet crude for December drop 1.34 dollars to 55.70 dollars a barrel.
"The financial crisis dominated market sentiment (in October) as the economic slowdown dented petroleum demand growth," OPEC said in its November monthly report.
The report said plummeting crude prices might cause an increase in demand, which would not be enough to counter the effects of the economic downturn.
While cold weather and falling prices, 'might to a certain degree help fourth-quarter oil demand ... demand is not expected to overcome the major decline resulting from the economic downturn,' OPEC said.
The 13-member organization said its basket price in October averaged $69.16 a barrel, dropping 20 percent to its price in August 2007. OPEC said the average continued its downward trend in November reaching $49.09/b on 14 November.
"Due to the declining oil demand in OECD, world oil demand in 2008 was revised down by 260,000 bpd and is now expected to grow by 290,000 bpd to average 86.2 million bpd," the report concluded.
The organization, which produces about 40 percent of the world's crude oil, plans to hold an emergency session in Cairo on Nov. 29.
The meeting will focus on the rapid drop of the price of crude from a record high of $147 in July to below $70.
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