Demand for OPEC’s crude will be higher in the second half of the year than previously estimated as inventories in developed economies remain depleted, according to the International Energy Agency . The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will need to provide an average of 30.7 million barrels a day in the second half, or 800,000 a day more than it pumped last month, the IEA said today. This calls for 140,000 more barrels of OPEC crude than the IEA forecast in April as stronger-than-expected demand has kept stockpile levels “tight” in advanced nations, the agency said. OPEC controls about 40 percent of global supplies. “Forecast balances call for a significant rise in OPEC production from current levels for the second half of the year,” the Paris-based adviser to oil-consuming nations said in its monthly report. “While OPEC has more than enough capacity to deliver, it remains to be seen […]