Uncertainty about China’s economy slightly hampered growth in oil demand in 2024, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said in its monthly report, as the group slightly revised its forecast released in July.
However, the OPEC cartel noted that demand growth remains very strong.
Compared to last month, the “forecast for global oil demand growth in 2024 has been revised down slightly by about 135,000 bpd” to 2.1 million bpd, “well above” the historical average of 1.4 million barrels per day (mb/d) observed before the covid-19 crisis, the report released on Monday said.
OPEC said the main reason was lower expectations for Chinese oil demand as the country’s economic growth “slowed slightly” after growing 5.3% in the first quarter compared with the same period last year.
OPEC said these concerns about the Chinese economy “created downward pressure on prices,” noting that “oil prices fell between May and July.”
OPEC expects demand to be 104.32 million barrels per day in 2024 and 106.11 mb/d in 2025, an increase of 1.8 mb/d, mainly driven by non-Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.
OPEC monthly report shows oil prices fell between May and July despite geopolitical tensions in Gaza (Brandon Bell/Getty Images, AFP)
