A good balance between oil supply and demand backed up by adequate inventories and spare production capacity show that last week's big drop in oil prices was "inevitable" and "in line with short-term market fundamentals," the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said Wednesday in its monthly report.

Although benchmark oil price Brent crude remains above $115 a barrel, the exporters' group stepped back from suggestions made last month that high oil prices were hurting global demand. Stronger demand growth in emerging economies may now offset any reduction caused elsewhere by higher prices, it said.

The report appears to validate March's surprise cut in production from OPEC's key member, Saudi Arabia , and recent statements from other member-country officials that a production increase won't be discussed at their June meeting.

It also contains pointed criticism of the U.S. Energy Information Administration over the accuracy of its oil demand data. Late last month the EIA made a sharp downward revision in U.S. oil demand for February, slashing its estimate of demand growth by 600,000 barrels a day.

"This exaggeration in the oil demand assessment puts extensive pressure on producers, leading to an unstable market," OPEC said.

The OPEC report also had its inconsistencies. The group continued to report production figures for Saudi Arabia , drawn from secondary sources, that greatly contradict official figures given by Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi. OPEC estimates Saudi production at 8.92 million barrels a day in February, versus the official figure of 9.13 million. The difference is even greater for March, for which OPEC estimates production of 8.76 million barrels a day, versus the 8.29 million announced by Al-Naimi.

Industry analysts say inconsistent data about Saudi oil production in recent months have been a key contributor to price volatility.

OPEC increased its forecast for 2011 demand growth by 20,000 barrels a day to 1.41 million barrels a day. It said the continuing negative effects of the Japanese earthquake and uncertainty about the strength of the U.S. economic recovery threaten demand, but, " China 's economy is roaring ahead of all expectations," so risks are broadly balanced.

OPEC said the current balance between supply and demand, "should be sufficient to support market stability." However, data in the report also pointed to the need for future action from the group as seasonal factors are seen pushing demand much higher than its current level from July.

The gap between non-OPEC oil supply and oil demand will rise by 2 million barrels a day in the third quarter, compared with the second, the report said. This gap will either need to be filled by eating into OPEC spare production capacity or by taking oil out of storage, both of which could increase pressure on prices.

U.S. commercial oil inventories also continued their three-month decline, falling by 1.3 million barrels a day in April mainly due to a fall in stocks of refined oil products, the report said. They remain 1% above their five-year average.

OPEC reiterated that it stands ready to meet the world's future crude oil needs.

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