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(OPEC) records the largest rise in its oil prices

15-07-2021

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced today, Thursday, that spot prices of crude oil rose strongly last June by 7.4 percent, driven by the increase in futures markets and the high demand for crude from refineries. The organization stated in its monthly report that the price of the (OPEC) reference basket of crudes rose by about five dollars per barrel, or 7.4 percent, last June for the second month in a row, to settle at an average of $71.89 per barrel, which is its highest monthly average since October 2018. She added that investors expressed increasing optimism last June about the expectations of a recovery in global demand for oil. The report dealt with global economic growth forecasts for 2021, noting that it will remain unchanged at 5.5 percent, and is likely to reach 4.1 percent next year. The report indicated that the future global growth is still affected by a number of uncertainties, including the outbreak of the (Corona) virus and the pace of launching the global vaccine, while the levels of sovereign debt in many countries, along with inflationary pressures and the responses of central banks, remain among the main factors that require monitoring global market developments from closely. Nevertheless, the report did not rule out a rise in growth with the spread of measures to contain the virus, in addition to fiscal and monetary stimulus plans, which leads to more gains in consumption and investments, which is reflected in the increase in energy demand. (OPEC) expected the global demand for oil to grow in 2021 by 6 million barrels per day, unchanged from last month’s assessment, so that the average total demand for oil is 96.6 million barrels. It also expected that the total global demand for oil will reach 99.86 million barrels per day, with a mark of 100 million barrels per day in the second half of 2022. The report stated that preliminary forecasts for 2022 indicate a growth in oil supply from outside (OPEC) by 2.1 million barrels per day. As for (OPEC) production of crude oil last June, it increased by 590,000 barrels per day to reach 26.03 million barrels per day, while the demand for (OPEC) crudes in 2021 remained unchanged from the previous report at 27.7 million barrels per day, an increase of 5.5 Millions of barrels per day for the year 2020. Based on the initial forecasts for global demand for oil and supplies from outside (OPEC) in 2022, the organization expected, at the conclusion of its periodic report, that demand for (OPEC) crude would reach 28.7 million barrels per day, an estimated increase of 1.1 million barrels per day over the level of 2021.