Brent falls to around $80; OPEC expects lower demand in 2015

By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent crude traded around $80 a barrel on Thursday, near its lowest since 2010, after OPEC said demand for its oil would fall next year, while Saudi Arabia remained silent about a possible cut in production.

Global demand for oil from OPEC will drop to 29.20 million barrels per day (bpd) next year, almost 1 million bpd less than it currently produces, the cartel said in its monthly report.

Brent broke below $80 a barrel for the first time since 2010 on Wednesday before settling down $1.29 at $80.38.

Brent crude for December delivery, which expires on Thursday, shed another 34 cents to $80.04 as of 0524 GMT.

"There are not many bullish factors to lift the market now," said Avtar Sandu, senior manager for commodities at Phillip Futures in Singapore. "But it's not a one-way street down. Those who have been selling want to take profits around this area."

U.S. crude for December delivery was down 10 cents at $77.08 a barrel.

The spread between the two benchmarks has narrowed more than $3 in the past week. The recent sharp decline in oil prices may cut investment in U.S. shale oil by 10 percent next year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.

Brent's premium to U.S. crude narrowed to $2.96 on Thursday from as much as $6.42 last week.

ALL EYES ON SAUDI

Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi broke months of silence on Wednesday to reaffirm the kingdom's long-standing policy of seeking stable global markets, dismissing talk of a price war.

However, al-Naimi offered no insight on the kingdom's response to tumbling oil prices, leaving investors guessing about the outcome of OPEC's next meeting on Nov. 27.

The noticeable lack of comment from the world's biggest oil exporter during the recent slide in oil prices may signal an involuntary change in the Saudi policy, according to Energy Aspects analyst Amrita Sen.

"The silence from Saudi Arabia is very, very damaging because the market tends to interpret and lets its imagination go wild," she said.

U.S. crude stocks fell by 1.5 million barrels last week to 373 million, compared with analysts' expectations of an increase of 800,000 barrels, data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute showed.

(Editing by Alan Raybould and Himani Sarkar)