OPEC: Pricey crude could erode 2010 demand

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OPEC says demand for crude oil will slip in the industrialized nations next year if oil prices climb and are sustained above their current level.

The warning Nov. 11 came as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, supplier of about 35 percent of the world’s crude, revised its 2010 global crude demand up to 85.07 million barrels per day — 75,000 barrels per day higher than its assessment in October.

OPEC said in its November report that if prices climb and are sustained at higher levels, it would result in a 1 percent decline in demand in industrialized nations.

The U.S. benchmark crude futures contract was hovering near $79 per barrel on Nov. 11.

The 12-nation bloc is scheduled to meet Dec. 22 in Angola to discuss production levels.

—The Associated Press