The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) revised its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2024, citing weaker-than-expected first-half data and lower expectations from China, reports Reuters.

In its monthly report, OPEC said it expects global oil demand to rise by 2.11 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024 (from a level of 2.25 forecast last month) and by 1 .78 million bpd in 2025 (from 1.85 million bpd in July), according to Agerpres.

“This slight revision reflects current data received for the first half of 2024 and, in some cases, the second quarter, as well as lower expectations from China this year. Despite a slow start to the travel season this summer, compared to last year, the demand for transportation fuels should remain solid due to road traffic and air mobility”, states OPEC.

It is the first cut since July 2023 to OPEC’s 2024 forecasts.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects a weaker than OPEC level of global oil demand in 2024 of 970,000 bpd in 2024.

At the ICE Futures exchange, the price of a barrel of Brent oil from the North Sea traded around 80 dollars, after the publication of the report.