Opec expects oil supply to fall by 2nd quarter of 2017

Dubai

GLOBAL oil inventories will start to fall by the second quarter of the year, and crude-producing countries will decide in May whether to extend their collective output cuts beyond the first half, Opec (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) secretary general Mohammad Barkindo said.

"We have our target in accelerating those drawdowns to bring them closer to the five-year level - that is our target," Mr Barkindo told reporters on Thursday at an energy conference in Abu Dhabi. Opec isn't targeting a specific price for crude, he said.