Oil Demand Also Shows Wealth Gap...Advanced Countries Raise Forecasts While Developing Countries Lower Them

OPEC Lowers Oil Demand Forecast by 400,000 Barrels per Day Again in One Month
Advanced Countries' Daily Demand Up by 100,000 Barrels... Developing Countries Expected to Decrease by 500,000 Barrels

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has once again lowered its oil demand forecast for this year within a month. This decision was made based on the assessment that the economic recovery in Asian countries such as India is weaker than expected, leading to a slower recovery in oil demand.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 14th (local time), OPEC lowered its oil demand forecast for this year to an average of 90.23 million barrels per day in its monthly report. This is 400,000 barrels lower than the 90.63 million barrels per day forecast announced in the monthly report a month ago.

OPEC has repeatedly lowered its demand forecasts as economic activities were hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, oil production has significantly decreased compared to last year's daily oil demand of 99.69 million barrels.

CNBC explained, "This report shows that oil demand recovery is faltering as energy industry insiders observe a slowdown in economic recovery."

However, a notable point is that OPEC expects oil demand in countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), known as the advanced economies club, to increase by an average of 100,000 barrels per day. In contrast, demand in non-OECD member countries is expected to decrease by an average of 500,000 barrels per day. In particular, OPEC expressed concerns about the slowdown in India's economic recovery.

India is showing a rapid increase in daily COVID-19 cases, reaching 80,000 to 90,000 cases per day.

The demand forecast for next year was also lowered. OPEC expects the economic recovery in the Asian region to remain slow until next year. The oil demand forecast for next year was set at 96.86 million barrels per day, 400,000 barrels lower than previously estimated.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Energy Information Administration also lowered its oil demand forecast for next year by 500,000 barrels per day. This adjustment reflects factors such as China's consumption recovery being lower than expected.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.