Concerns over China’s economic slowdown returned to the fore again this week, with Opec and the IEA both revising down their expectations for 2024 global oil demand growth on the back of a softening economy in the key market. Opec still projects global demand growth comfortably in excess of 2mn b/d this year, well ahead of other forecasts, but many observers expect further downwards revisions to come as Chinese oil demand figures continue to underperform.
The revisions come just a few weeks before Opec+ producers will have to make a final decision on whether to press ahead with the gradual easing of 2.2mn b/d of voluntary production cuts from October. The 2.2mn b/d of voluntary cuts have been in force since January, and an agreement was reached in June to unwind the cuts between October 2024 and September 2025 (MEES, 7 June). (CONTINUED - 890 WORDS)
