Global oil demand is expected to remain strong in 2022, as forecasted by The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The ongoing strong wave of the coronavirus variant omicron or the expected interest rate hikes by central banks do not change this for now.
In its monthly report, OPEC forecasts that world oil demand will gradually increase by 4.15 million barrels per day this year. Total daily consumption should exceed 100 million barrels in the third quarter of this year.
“Although the omicron variant may negatively impact the first half of 2022, the economic growth projection remains robust,” OPEC said in its report. It is the continuing economic recovery that should outweigh the impact of the omicron variant.
OPEC also expects the world’s major central banks to gradually raise their interest rates, which will contribute to cooling global demand. However, this should not affect oil demand too much. “We expect the oil market to remain relatively strong through 2022,” estimates the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The price of oil will be, according to analysts, mostly between $80 and $85 per barrel this year.
