Oil data suggests no need for OPEC output change

LONDON/DUBAI (Reuters) - Oil demand and supply data reviewed by a panel of OPEC economists before the group's September 9 gathering indicate no need for it to change output policy, two OPEC delegates said on Friday.

OPEC's Economic Commission Board is holding a two-day meeting at the group's Vienna headquarters on Thursday and Friday, ahead of the September 9 ministerial session that will decide output policy.

"There's no need to change -- there's too much uncertainty in the world economy," said one of the delegates.

The comments add to virtual unanimity so far among OPEC officials in saying there is no need for a formal change at the meeting, which comes as oil is trading near $70 a barrel, up more than 50 percent this year.

Late last year, OPEC agreed to cut supply by 4.2 million barrels per day (bpd) since September 2008 due to falling demand and prices. It has kept official output targets unchanged at meetings so far this year.

Even so, oil inventories remain high, world demand has yet to recover from the economic crisis and industry surveys suggest OPEC members are pumping increasingly more oil than called for by their output targets.

The chance of an oil output reduction could not be ruled out, analysts at PFC Energy said in a note.

"There is little to indicate a cut is formally off the table," PFC said. "On the contrary, growing concerns that total oil inventories have not been drawn down rapidly enough could spur additional action."

According to PFC, OPEC could deepen an expected winter decline in stocks by cutting 300,000 bpd to 500,000 bpd of oil output in the fourth quarter.

Waiting until OPEC's next meeting in December to consider adjusting supply would need a larger cut of more than 1 million bpd to limit a buildup of stocks in the second quarter and work off excess built up earlier, PFC said.

(Editing by William Hardy)