The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said in its monthly report that the global economy continues to overcome the challenges represented by high inflation, high interest rates in the US and the Eurozone, and high debt levels in many regions of the world.
OPEC’s report, which was distributed in Vienna Thursday, stated that the global economy grew by 3.3 percent for the year 2022 and is expected to reach 2.6 percent in 2023, both of which were unchanged from the previous month’s assessment.
The forecast for economic growth in the US for the year 2023 remains unchanged at 1.2 percent, after a growth of 2.1 percent for the year 2022, it said.
The Eurozone’s economic growth forecast for 2023 remains at 0.8 percent, after growth of 3.5 percent for 2022, it noted Japan’s economic growth forecast for 2022 remains at 1.0 percent for both 2022 and 2023, it mentioned.
China’s economic growth forecast remains at 5.2 percent for 2023, compared with 3 percent for 2022, the report stated.
India’s 2022 economic growth estimate is unchanged at 6.7 percent, and the forecast for 2023 remains at 5.6 percent.
Russia’s growth is also unchanged across both years, with an estimated contraction of 2.1 percent for 2022 and a smaller forecast contraction of 0.5 percent for 2023.
The report dealt with the demand for OPEC crudes this year, describing it as stable and an increase of 800,000 barrels over the previous year.
The demand for OPEC crudes in 2023 remained unchanged from the previous assessment, standing at 29.3 million barrels per day (bpd), it pointed out.
The organization indicated in its report for the month of April that this demand remains about 800,000 bpd higher than it was in 2022.
On the average price of the OPEC Reference Basket, it increased by USD 5.68, or 7.2 percent, monthly, to reach USD 84.13 per barrel (pb).
The benchmark Brent crude rose by USD 4.16, or 5.3 percent, on a monthly basis, to reach USD 83.37 pb, and the price of US West Texas crude increased by USD 6.07, or 8.3 percent per month, to reach USD 79.44 pb.
The OPEC report reviewed the world oil demand and said that the estimates for 2022 remained unchanged from last month’s assessment, with a growth of 2.5 million bpd on an annual basis.
Estimates on global oil supplies from outside OPEC indicate that they grew by 1.9 million bpd in 2022, broadly unchanged from the previous month’s assessment.
The main drivers of growth in crude supplies for 2022 were the US, Russia, Canada, Guyana, China and Brazil, while the largest declines was observed in Norway and Thailand.
For the year 2023, the forecast for non-OPEC liquids production growth remained unchanged from last month’s assessment at 1.4 million bpd on an annual basis, it said.
It is expected that the US, Brazil, Norway, Canada, Kazakhstan and Guyana are the main drivers of growth in the supply of crude oil, while it is expected to decline mainly in Russia.
Uncertainties remain, primarily related to the potential of US shale oil output and unplanned field maintenance in 2023, the report stressed.
Preliminary data showed an increase in US imports of crude oil to 6.3 million bpd in April, amid preparations for the summer driving season.
OPEC’s report continued to mention that US crude exports fell back from a record high to average a still strong 4.2 million bpd.
In March, China’s crude imports surged to a new record of 12.4 million bpd, following a wave of buying by Chinese refiners, including from long-haul sources.
The preliminary estimates for April show Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Europe crude imports were seasonally lower, while product imports picked up from lower levels in February and March, OPEC said in its report.
Source: Kuwait News Agency