OPEC maintains oil demand forecasts for 2025, 2026

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced on Wednesday that it is maintaining its previous forecasts for global oil demand growth in 2025 and 2026, reported Xinhua.

In its February monthly oil market report, OPEC projects a "healthy" increase in global oil demand, estimating growth of 1.45 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2025, followed by a rise of 1.43 million bpd in 2026, figures unchanged from last month's assessment.

"Growth this year is expected to be driven by transportation fuels on the back of strong air travel demand and healthy road mobility. Support is also expected to come from the industrial, construction and agricultural sectors in non-OECD (the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries," OPEC said.

The organization also left its global economic growth projections for 2025 and 2026 unchanged, forecasting a 3.1 percent expansion this year and 3.2 percent in the following year.