Opec has cut its forecast for demand as high energy prices curb the recovery from Covid-19 – delaying the timeline for a return to pre-pandemic levels of oil use until later in 2022.
The cartel of oil-producing countries said it expects demand to average 99.49m barrels per day in the fourth quarter of 2021, down 330,000 from last month’s forecast.
The year’s demand growth forecast was trimmed by 160,000 to 5.65m.
Slowdown: Opec said it expects demand for oil to average 99.49m barrels per day (bpd) in the fourth quarter of 2021, down 330,000 bpd from last month’s forecast
The group also cited slower-than-expected demand in China and India for the revision.
Brent crude sank below $20 a barrel last year as Covid hit demand.
But it has rebounded sharply to a three-year high above $86 a barrel this year as producers only gradually ramp up supplies.
This has sent prices at the fuel pumps soaring on forecourts in the UK – hitting drivers filling up their tanks.
