OPEC takes sour note on economy

VIENNA, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- The slow pace of economic recovery means the demand of oil is lower than expected, the OPEC oil cartel said in its latest report from Vienna.

Ministers of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries meet Thursday in Vienna to assess production quotas from the 12 oil-producing states in the cartel.

The organization said in its latest report that while the United States was still the largest oil consumer in the world, the slow pace of economic recovery was dragging on the oil sector.

"The world economy continues to expand at below-average levels," the report read.

OPEC said production from non-member states such as Russia, China and Brazil were on the rise, adding as much as 52 million barrels per day to the market in 2010.

The organization said that the global demand for oil from its members should be around 28.8 million barrels per day in 2011, which Bloomberg News said is about 100,000 bpd less than revised figures from a month ago.

An increased use of natural gas, meanwhile, could suppress OPEC crude production in the future, the report adds.

OPEC oil accounts for 40 percent of the world's crude.