The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said in its Monthly Oil Market Report released on Wednesday that the estimated increase in global oil demand for 2021 has been revised down from 5.96 million barrels per day to 5.8 million bpd, APA-Economics reports citing monthly report of OPEC.

The average oil demand for the entire year is now seen as standing at 96.6 million bpd, according to the cartel.

OPEC cited "lower-than-expected actual data for the first three quarters of this year" as the key reason behind the decision to cut the projection. However, it also noted that "healthy oil demand assumptions going into the final quarter of the year... will be supported by seasonal uptick in petrochemical and heating fuel demand and the potential switch from natural gas to petroleum products due to high gas prices."

The demand growth forecast for 2022 remained unchanged at 4.2 million bpd and is expected to result in average demand of 100.8 million bpd for the entire year.

https://apa.az/en/xeber/azerbaijan_energy_and_industry/opec-cuts-2021-global-oil-demand-growth-projection-359826