Opec decided to maintain its agreed production ceiling at its 5 June meeting in Vienna. A statement from the oil producers’ group said it “resolved to maintain the 30 million-barrel-a-day (b/d) ceiling and urged member countries to adhere to it.” 

The decision to leave the quotas unchanged was largely expected, as although prices are still far lower than they were in 2014, they are stronger than they were in January this year when the price dropped to about $46 a barrel. On 5 June, the price for Brent Crude was $63.31 a barrel.

Commenting on the market, the Opec statement said the sharp decline in oil prices last year caused by oversupply and speculation had abated, adding that world oil demand is forecast to increase in the second half of 2015 and early 2016.

On the supply side, the cartel said non-Opec growth in 2015 is expected to be just below 700,000 b/d, which is only about one-third of the growth witnessed in 2014.

Earlier at the Vienna conference, officials said $80 a barrel is the right price for crude and expressed hopes that prices would rise in the second half of 2015 and into 2016.