Heinz-Peter Bader | Reuters
Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak (L) and Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih leave a news conference after a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, December 10, 2016.
Global demand for oil could outdo the ten-year average in 2017 as the health of the world economy improves and demand for road transport continues to grow, OPEC’s latest monthly report has forecast.
The new data from the oil cartel Monday expects demand to grow at 1.2 million barrels per day (mb/d), “well above” the 1.0 mb/d averages seen in the past decade.
This is however down slightly from the 1.3 mb/d estimated for 2016, during which oil demand in OECD Europe, OECD Asia Pacific and other Asia was “better-than-expected” due to increase demand in the petrochemical and transportation sectors.
This boost was simultaneously met by bearish oil consumption in Latin America and the Middle East, where economic activity was more stagnant over 2016.
Despite this, OPEC is expecting growing demand for road transportation and the expanding petrochemical sectors in the U.S. and China to be driving factors in the continued growth in oil demand over the coming year.
Vehicle sales are expected to increase in the U.S., Europe, China and India, according to the report, however OPEC is also expecting technological developments and increased regulations on fuel consumption to weigh on this somewhat.
These trends are expected to supplement growing global economic activities, according to OPEC, which is forecasting growth of 3.2 percent in 2017.
