OPEC further cuts global oil demand forecast for 2024, 2025

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Tuesday further trimmed its forecasts for global oil demand growth this year and next, marking the organization's downward revision for the fourth consecutive month.

In its monthly oil market report for November, OPEC expected a "healthy" global oil demand growth of 1.82 million barrels per day (bpd) for 2024, but down about 107,000 bpd from the growth of 1.93 million bpd projected last month.

OPEC attributed the adjustment to updated data for the first three quarters of this year.

Meanwhile, OPEC estimates its 2025 global oil demand growth at 1.54 million bpd from last month's assessment of 1.64 million bpd, saying the figure is "still marking a very healthy increase compared with pre-pandemic norms."

OPEC already lowered its forecasts for global oil demand growth in 2024 and 2025 in its monthly market reports for three months in a row since August. OPEC had maintained its global oil demand growth forecasts of 2.25 million bpd this year and 1.85 million bpd next year by August.

Oil prices have generally trended downward in recent weeks amid concerns over slowing global demand.

Early this month, eight member countries of OPEC+, a group comprising OPEC and its allies, announced an extension of their voluntary oil production cuts by a month until the end of December.