Oil prices are expected to record their largest weekly decline since September 2, falling 5.9% for the week ending Oct. 18 amid demand concerns fueled by data from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
The International benchmark Brent crude traded at $73.92 per barrel at 2.38 p.m. local time (1138GMT) on Friday, down by around 5.9% relative to the closing price of $78.60 a barrel last week.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the American benchmark, traded at $69.81 a barrel at the same time on Friday, a decrease of about 6.7% from last Friday’s session, which closed at $74.84 per barrel.
According to OPEC’s monthly oil market report released on Oct. 14, global crude oil demand growth forecast for 2024 has been revised down by 106,000 barrels per day (bpd) from the previous month’s assessment. Total world oil demand is anticipated to increase by 1.93 million bpd, reaching 104.14 million bpd this year.
OPEC also revised down its demand growth forecast for 2025 by 100,000 bpd, expecting demand to grow by 1.64 million bpd that year.
The slowdown in global oil demand is largely attributed to China. As the world’s largest oil importing country, China’s demand is predicted to increase by 580,000 bpd this year, which is 70,000 bpd lower than OPEC’s previous prediction.
Concerns that the incentives announced this month to stimulate the Chinese economy might be insufficient to exert pressure on oil prices throughout the week by fueling demand fears of the market players.
The stimulus package for the real estate sector announced on Thursday, includes an increase in the loan quota for eligible companies to 4 trillion yuan, aimed at halting the decline in the sector.
However, analysts have stated that while the stimulus package might positively impact the ongoing issues in China’s real estate sector, it does not fully meet industry expectations.
