VIENNA, June 12 (UPI) -- The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said Thursday it expects the global economy in 2014 will need less of its crude oil than it did last year.
OPEC in its June market report said it expected the global economy would need 29.7 million barrels of its crude oil per day in 2014. That's a decline of 400,000 bpd from the previous year.
Demand from Western economies is expected to decline slightly despite growth in the U.S. economy. Though expanding Asian economies are taking on more energy reserves to keep up with growing demand, OPEC said any growth depends on whether or not Japan starts to phase nuclear power back in to its energy mix.
Japan started taking on more fossil fuels to compensate for the loss of nuclear power from the 2011 meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi facility.
Globally, oil demand is expected to increase by 1.14 million bpd this year.
"More than half of oil demand growth this year is seen coming from China and the Middle East," OPEC said in its market report.
OPEC said that, in general, oil production levels are sufficient to keep markets satiated.
"The ongoing rise in [oil] supply would be adequate to satisfy the growth in oil demand in the second half of 2014, resulting in a well-balanced market," it said.
