According to tanker tracker Oil Movements, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will reduce supplies this month by the most since August 2010 as demand for winter fuels in the northern hemisphere passes its peak.

Oil Movements said that shipments will drop 1.3% to 23.6 million barrels a day in the four weeks to January 22nd 2011 from 23.91 million barrels in the period to December 25th 2010. It is the biggest decline since a 1.8% fall during the four weeks to August 28th 2010. The data exclude Ecuador and Angola.

Data from Oil Movements show that exports from Middle Eastern producers, including those from non OPEC members Oman and Yemen, will decrease by 1.6% to 17.55 million barrels a day.

OPEC will skip its traditional first quarter gathering and have its first meeting of the year in June 2011. Kuwaiti oil minister Mr Sheikh Ahmad al Abdullah al Sabah said on January 5th 2011 that oil prices between USD 80 and USD 100 a barrel are fair. The commodity traded around USD 90 a barrel in New York.

A total of 469.11 million barrels of crude will be on board tankers in the month to January 22nd 2011, down by 0.9% on the December 25th 2010 figure of 473.47 million barrels, which calculates shipments by keeping a tally of tanker rental agreements. Its figures exclude crude held on board ships used as floating storage.

(Sourced from www.bloomberg.net)