London (Platts)--9Aug2012/649 am EDT/1049 GMT

OPEC said Thursday it was leaving its estimate of world oil demand for 2012 unchanged at 88.72 million b/d as consumption follows its usual seasonal pattern across the globe.

In its latest monthly oil market report, OPEC said world oil demand has overcome an "earlier notion" of declining momentum and moved to a more stable trend.

"World oil demand has overcome earlier expectations of a declining momentum and moved to a more stabilized trend, supported by the summer driving season, the summer heat, and the continued shutdown of most of Japan's nuclear capacity," it said.

It said oil use in the US, Japan and India had been growing for various reasons and demand in non-OECD countries was gaining some strength.

"The only exception is European demand, which continues its downward trend," OPEC said.

"Hence the world oil demand forecast is unchanged from the last estimate, with growth projected at 900,000 b/d year on year to average 88.72 million b/d."

OPEC also left almost unchanged its estimates for global oil demand in the third and fourth quarters of 2012, at 89.66 million b/d and 88.72 million b/d, respectively.

It also left unchanged its forecast for world oil demand growth for 2013 at 800,000 b/d to 89.52 million b/d compared with its July report. "There is considerable uncertainty surrounding the forecast for world oil demand growth in 2013. However, risks are currently seen to be skewed to the downside," it said.

OPEC said that despite the increase in May in US oil consumption, the outlook is still for lower demand in that country.

"The picture remains rather pessimistic, depending upon the development of the economy and the transportation fuel price levels," it said.

In Europe, OPEC said the debt crisis still overshadows the continent's economic perspective. "The negative sentiment is spreading across the region, leading to declining economic activity and hence reducing the use of energy in all sectors."

June oil consumption in Germany, France, Italy and the UK fell as a result of decreasing demand for industrial fuels, due to weak industrial activity.

Elsewhere, OPEC sees Indian demand continuing to rise strongly. It said diesel usage rose 9% during the country's power outage that left 600 million people without electricity.

In June, Indian oil demand rose sharply by 7.2% year on year, the strongest demand since February.

In China, however, oil demand eased in June, as half of its imports ended up in the country's stockpile during that month, OPEC said.

--Stuart Elliott, stuart_elliott@platts.com --Edited by Jonathan Fox, jonathan_fox@platts.com

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