OPEC warns stocks could hit 59 days without action

Sat Nov 29, 2008 4:17pm GMT

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CAIRO (Reuters) - Commercial oil inventories held among industrialised nations of the OECD could hit 59 days by the end of 2009 if OPEC doesn't take further action on supply, OPEC President Chakib Khelil said on Saturday.

Days of forward OECD inventory cover is a key measure for OPEC in assessing the oil market's supply and demand balance.

Latest estimates are that stocks are at 55-56 days of cover and several OPEC ministers have said they would like to cut inventories to 52 days.

Khelil said OPEC would need to take into account falling demand and rising inventories when it meets next on December 17 in Algeria.

He was speaking after the producer group left output unchanged at a brief meeting in Cairo called to assess compliance with two previous rounds of cuts since September.

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