barrel on Friday while WTI closed 1.02 per cent higher at $74.05 a
barrel. Following a small post-FOMC [Federal Open Mark Committee] correction, crude oil quickly resumed its move higher, with WTI and Brent both reaching levels last seen in 2018, said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank. This is in the belief that Opec+ will, in the near-term, manage production increases in a manner that ensures continued price support as global demand continues to recover and, later on, due to increased concerns that a lack of capex spent on new production could leave the market undersupplied from late 2022 onwards, he said.
The Americas region of the OECD bloc, led by the US, will be the largest contributor to oil demand growth this year as the world s biggest economy continues to recover from the pandemic, Opec said.
Its growth will be supported by rebounding transportation fuels, mainly gasoline and healthy light- and middle-distillate requirements , the group said.
In spite of the growth, oil demand growth in the region is not expected to fully recover to pre-pandemic levels.
Demand in the non-OECD region is expected to rise by 3.3 million bpd, with China taking the lead. India, which is in the grips of a debilitating second wave of the pandemic, will follow in terms of growth.