OPEC adheres to its expectations of strong growth in global oil demand during 2024

Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Thursday expected strong demand for fuel in the summer months and stuck to its expectations for relatively strong growth in global oil demand in 2024, but said there was a chance that the global economy would perform better than expected this year.

According to Reuters, OPEC added in a monthly report that global demand for oil will increase by 2.25 million barrels per day in 2024 and by 1.85 million barrels per day in 2025. Expectations have not changed from last month.

A boost to the growth of the global economy would in turn give a boost to oil prices, which rose to more than $90 a barrel this year due to the decline in supply and the war in the Middle East. OPEC and its allied countries in the OPEC+ bloc agreed last week to maintain the cuts they imposed on crude production until the end of June.

OPEC said in the report, “Despite some downside risks, the continuation of the momentum we saw at the beginning of the year may result in prospects that push global economic growth in 2024.”

OPEC+ is scheduled to hold a meeting in June to decide whether to extend the production cut or pump more into the market.

OPEC said in the report, “Expecting strong demand for oil for the summer months requires careful monitoring of the market amid continued uncertainty in order to ensure a strong and sustainable market balance.”

The OPEC report also stated that the organization’s crude oil production stabilized in March, as it only increased by three thousand barrels per day, recording 26.60 million barrels per day, despite a new round of voluntary production cuts from countries participating in OPEC+ that began in January 2024.