Brent Slips as Supply Outpaces Demand

Brent crude oil slid toward $102 on Wednesday as rising supply and waning demand kept a lid on prices. The commodity traded at $102.22 at 7:47 GMT on Wednesday morning. The

reported that a figures from the International Energy Agency on Tuesday showed that output from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries increased to 30.7 million barrels per day from 200,000 bpd. According to the IEA, that exceeds the world's needs by about 1.8 million barrels. For the second half of 2013, OPEC is expected to agree to produce 30 million bpd, which would closely match the organization's current targets. However, oil ministers from the participating countries will meet on May 31st in Vienna to discuss their strategy for the remainder of the year. Iran is expected to champion lowering production in an effort to lift prices. Since Iranian oil output is already being cut by international sanctions, the nation's oil minister is expected to push hard for better prices. The US Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration is expected to release data on Thursday which will help clarify the nation's demand outlook. In previous estimations, the EIA has projected the nation's demand for gasoline to drop to a 12 year low during the upcoming peak driving season. Recent data from the eurozone also kept Brent prices low as German economic sentiment faltered and confirmed that the region wasn't due for recovery any time soon. A seemingly endless string of poor data from the region has kept growth expectations and oil consumption low.