Opec further lowered its oil demand growth estimates for this year and next amid weaker forecasts for the global economy, adding uncertainty to producer efforts to support the market. In its monthly oil market report Opec’s research arm said world oil demand this year will rise by just over 1.54m barrels a day, 80,000 b/d less than last month’s estimate. In 2019 oil demand will grow by 1.36m b/d, 50,000 b/d less than last month’s estimate, the group said on Thursday, reflecting new economic data for Turkey, Brazil and Argentina. Robust oil demand growth helped Opec and its allies outside of the cartel such as Russia shrink a supply glut that had driven prices lower in recent years. But there are fears that global economic uncertainty could see renewed growth in stockpiles in the coming months despite producer efforts to curb supplies and keep prices in check. Financial Times