OPEC maintains its forecast on oil demand

The OPEC maintained its forecast for relatively strong growth in global oil demand in 2024 and 2025, and further raised its economic growth forecast for this year, stating that there is more room for improvement.

In its monthly report, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said that global oil demand will increase by 2.25 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024 and by 1.85 million bpd in 2025. Both forecasts remained unchanged from last month.

OPEC's demand growth forecast for 2024 is well above that of many other forecasters, including the International Energy Agency. OPEC believes that oil consumption will continue to rise over the next two decades, while the IEA forecasts that it will peak in 2030 as the world shifts towards cleaner energy.

In the report, OPEC notes that it expects the "solid growth dynamics" from late 2023 to extend into the first half of 2024 and raises its economic growth forecast for 2024 by 0.1 percentage points, following last month's increase.

"Although some downside risks persist, the continuation of the momentum foreseen since the beginning of the year could translate into additional upside potential for global economic growth in 2024," OPEC said in the report.

"The growth trajectories in 2024 and 2025 for India, China, as well as the United States, could exceed current expectations."

The OPEC report also notes that OPEC's oil production increased by 203,000 bpd in February to 26.57 million bpd, led by Nigeria and Libya, despite the new round of voluntary production cuts by the OPEC+ alliance that began in January.