The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries recently further raised its forecast for China’s oil demand growth in 2023 following the relaxation of the country’s COVID-19 curbs.
The oil producers’ alliance, however, left the global total steady citing potential downside risks for growth in other regions.
“Minor upward adjustments were made due to the better-than-expected performance in China’s economy, while other regions are expected to see slight declines, due to economic challenges that are likely to weigh on oil demand,” OPEC said in the report.
This was virtually unchanged from 2.32 million bpd forecast last month.—AN
