OPEC forecast supported the oil market

Oil prices increased their growth on Monday evening after the publication of an updated OPEC forecast regarding the prospects for global fuel demand. The current price of Brent oil is $82.80 per barrel. Before the forecast was published, the asset was trading near $80.50.

One of the key factors that supported the oil market was the revised OPEC forecast for global oil demand. The organization has improved its expectations for oil consumption growth in 2023 by 50 thousand barrels per day, setting it at 2.46 million b/d. Now the projected demand for oil next year is estimated at 102.1 million b/d. The estimate of demand growth in 2024 remained at the level of 2.25 million b/s – up to 104.36 million b/s.

The OPEC report also clarifies that a slight decrease in forecasts for OECD countries in the first three quarters of the year was offset by an increase in expectations for regions outside the OECD. It is predicted that in OECD countries, oil demand in 2023 will increase by 82 thousand b/d, reaching 45.8 million b/d, while in countries outside the OECD, an increase of 2.4 million b/d to 56.3 million b/d is expected.

Prior to today's rise in the «black gold» market, prices showed a three-week decline due to fears of a slowdown in the economies of the leading countries of the world, including the United States and China. Despite this threat, analysts believe that fundamental factors will support the market in the coming months, as well as the projected shortage of fuel in the market until the end of this year. The average Brent price forecast for the coming months is $85 per barrel.