UPDATE 10-Oil little changed, U.S. ties 18-year low after OPEC cuts demand forecast

* Trump to release new guidelines on reopening the U.S.
economy
* Some European countries ease coronavirus restrictions
* WTI ties February 2002 low for second day
* OPEC cuts oil demand view again as market faces 'historic
shock'
* OPEC sees 2020 demand shrinking by 6.9 mln bpd

(Recasts at top, adds details on Conoco)
By Scott DiSavino
NEW YORK, April 16 (Reuters) - Oil prices ended little
changed on Thursday after OPEC's lowering of its global demand
forecast for 2020 was offset by some European countries saying
they would relax coronavirus restrictions, pointing to a
potential rebound in consumption.
Brent futures LCOc1 gained 13 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at
$27.82 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1
ended the day unchanged at $19.87, marking a second straight day
of closing at its lowest since February 2002.
The crude market has not been able to rally even after the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its
Russia-led allies, a group known as OPEC+, came to a deal at the
weekend to drastically cut world supply.
Traders said that because some countries in Europe are
easing lockdowns, however, fuel demand could rebound sooner than
anticipated. Officials at the World Health Organization warned
countries to move with extreme caution before relaxing
restrictions.
"Some of Europe is starting to open up. That's supportive
for Brent," said John Kilduff, partner at hedge fund Again
Capital LLC in New York.
In its latest monthly report, OPEC forecast that global oil
demand would contract by 6.9 million barrels per day (bpd), or
6.9%, in 2020. OPEC/M
That forecast, along with Wednesday's report that U.S. crude
stockpiles rose by a record 19.2 million barrels last week,
tempered the optimism that grew out of the OPEC+ supply deal to
reduce output by 9.7 million bpd for May and June. EIA/S
Hoped-for cuts of another 10 million bpd from other
countries, including the United States, could lower production
by around 20 million bpd, although those cuts are expected to
take months to come to fruition.
Following the end of trading, Saudi Arabia and Russia, in a
joint statement, said they would continue to monitor oil markets
and were ready to take joint measures with the rest of OPEC+ if
needed.
"Oil prices must remain depressed to force shut-ins among
non-cartelised producers," said Norbert Ruecker, head of
economics at Swiss bank Julius Baer, referring to producers such
as the United States, where a lot of production is unprofitable
at current prices.
ConocoPhillips COP.N said it would cut U.S. and Canadian
oil production by around 225,000 bpd due to the collapse in
crude prices. U.S. and Canadian companies have so far announced
roughly 730,000 bpd in production cuts. In Russia, energy firms have already significantly reduced
oil export plans for May following the OPEC+ deal, three company
sources and two traders told Reuters.