LONDON, Nov 28: Opec is expected to leave output unchanged at a meeting next Thursday and schedule another conference in January or February, the Middle East Economic Survey reported on Friday.

“MEES understands that Opec’s senior policy-makers believe that a fresh cut at the upcoming meeting would be politically unpalatable at a time when the Opec basket price has exceeded the organization’s preferred $22-$28 a barrel price band periodically in recent weeks,” the weekly newsletter said.

Opec meets on December 4 to review output policy after surprising world oil markets in September with a production cut that it started implementing from the start of November.

The decision has helped support oil prices and keep Opec’s basket of crudes above $28 for most of the past two weeks.

The cartel’s Vienna secretariat is forecasting demand for its crude at 26.49 million bpd in the first quarter compared to October output of 27.42 million bpd.

While the November cuts should see lower output from 10 Opec producers with quotas, Iraq is raising supplies.—Reuters