OPEC "Energy Price Increase Likely to Weaken Global Oil Demand"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) forecasted that global oil demand will contract due to soaring oil prices.

In its monthly report released on the 11th (local time), OPEC predicted, "Oil demand will decrease, especially among major emerging countries, due to the sharp rise in energy prices."

OPEC stated, "A decline in oil demand is expected particularly in China and India," and added, "Among non-OECD member countries, less affluent nations are also expected to see reduced oil demand due to energy inflation."

OPEC lowered its forecast for global crude oil demand in the fourth quarter by 160,000 barrels per day from the previous estimate, projecting it at 96.4 million barrels per day.

Meanwhile, OPEC expects oil demand to recover next year. It projected that global oil demand will increase by 4.2 million barrels per day next year, reaching a total daily demand of 100 million barrels.

Earlier, at a meeting on the 5th, OPEC Plus (OPEC+), a coalition of OPEC and major non-OPEC oil-producing countries including Russia, agreed to maintain the plan to increase production by 400,000 barrels per day each month next month as well.

The United States has demanded additional supply, arguing that the current production increase is insufficient to meet demand during the post-COVID-19 economic recovery period.

Major oil-producing countries sharply cut production when global energy demand plummeted during the COVID-19 outbreak but have not expanded production to match the increased demand as the economy recovered.

OPEC also announced, "Due to the sustained high energy prices, the economic recovery in the fourth quarter of 2021 is expected to slow down."

However, OPEC maintained its global economic growth forecast for this year at 5.6%.

Meanwhile, on the same day, the December West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price rose 0.21% from the previous session to $81.51 per barrel, and the January Brent crude oil price increased 0.42% to $82.99 per barrel.

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