World oil ‍supply will match demand closely in 2026, OPEC data ​published on Thursday indicated, an outlook contrasting with projections from the International Energy ⁠Agency and others of a huge glut. The OPEC+ group comprising the ⁠Organization of ‌the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other allies plans to pause production hikes in the first quarter of ⁠2026, amid widespread predictions of oversupply.

In a monthly report on Thursday, OPEC said that OPEC+ pumped 43.06 million barrels per day of crude in November, up 43,000 bpd from the ⁠previous month, as the ​latest output hike agreement took effect.

The report forecast demand for OPEC+ crude will average ‍43 million bpd in 2026, unchanged from last month and close to what OPEC+ ​produced in November. OPEC forecast demand for its crude at 42.6 million bpd in the first quarter.

Should OPEC+ keep pumping at November's rate in 2026 and other things remain equal, production would be 60,000 bpd higher than demand, according to a Reuters calculation based on the OPEC report. This contrasts with the view of the IEA, which earlier on Thursday implied global oil supply will exceed ⁠demand by almost 3.84 million bpd - an ‌amount equal to almost 4% of world demand - next year.

In its report, OPEC also kept its forecasts for 2025 ‌and 2026 world ⁠oil demand growth unchanged and said the world economy remained on ⁠a solid footing. (Editing by Mark Potter, Kirsten Donovan)