WTI crude futures surged past $78 per barrel on Tuesday, fueled by OPEC’s optimistic outlook on global oil demand growth in 2024 and 2025. The organization also raised its economic growth forecast for the current year, citing room for improvement. According to OPEC’s monthly report, oil demand is expected to increase by 2.25 million bpd in 2024 and by 1.85 million bpd in 2025, unchanged from previous estimates. Conflict in the Middle East and supply disruptions have provided support for oil prices, although concerns about high interest rates persist. OPEC projects global economic growth of 2.8% this year, with an expected easing in inflation. Output cuts by OPEC and its allies since late 2022 have helped stabilize the market, with a new round of cuts in effect for the first quarter of this year, recently extended to cover the second quarter. Despite OPEC’s efforts, oil production increased by 203,000 bpd in February to 26.57 million bpd, led by Nigeria and Libya.
