Oil prices fell on Wednesday, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude trading near $68 per barrel, following the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) decision to reduce its global oil demand growth forecasts for 2024 and 2025. This marks the fourth consecutive downward revision, reflecting economic challenges in key markets such as China and India.
OPEC now anticipates a demand increase of 1.82 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024, down from the previous estimate of 1.93 million bpd. The 2025 forecast has also been adjusted to 1.54 million bpd, a decrease from the earlier projection of 1.64 million bpd. A significant factor in these revisions is the reduced demand from China, where the forecast has been cut from 580,000 bpd to 450,000 bpd, attributed to a slowdown in construction and manufacturing activities.
The market’s reaction to OPEC’s revised outlook underscores concerns about a potential oversupply amid weakening demand. Despite these adjustments, OPEC’s demand growth estimates remain higher than those of the International Energy Agency (IEA), which forecasts a growth of 860,000 bpd in 2024.
