Saudi Arabia’s oil minister Ali al-Naimi said on Monday he expects oil demand to pick up in the second half of 2015 while supply decreases, in a sign that the kingdom’s strategy of defending market share was working. The comment indicates Saudi Arabia will likely propose not to change output policy at producer group OPEC’s meeting on Friday, although Naimi declined to speak directly on the issue. “The answer is yes,” Naimi said in his first public comment upon arrival in Vienna, where the meeting will take place, when asked whether the strategy of defending market share through higher supplies and lower oil prices was working. “Demand is picking up. Good! Supply is slowing, right? That is a fact,” he told reporters. “You can see that I’m not stressed, I’m happy,” he said. Naimi was the key architect of OPEC’s decision at its last meeting in November 2014 […]