Opec supply has highest monthly increase in four years

Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Companies (Opec) reached a high supply rate in March - along with global oil supply

Global oil supply jumped an estimated 1m barrels a day (b/d) month-on-month in March to 95.2m b/d, as Opec production hit its highest monthly increase in nearly four years. Annual gains of  3.5m b/d were split between Opec and non-Opec production, data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) showed in its latest market report. At the same time, the global oil demand forecast for 2015 was raised 90,000 b/d to 93.6m b/d, a gain of 1.1m b/d on the year – a notable acceleration on 2014’s 0.7m b/d expansion – as the global economy slowly picks up, reported the IEA. Early indications suggest that Opec’s robust March production levels, up nearly 1.5m b/d on the year before, may be sustained – an