VIENNA, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced on Wednesday that it will uphold its earlier forecasts for global oil demand growth in 2024 and 2025.
In its monthly oil market report for July, OPEC projects a healthy global oil demand growth of 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) for 2024, followed by a "robust growth" of 1.8 million bpd next year, consistent with last month's assessments.
"Expected strong mobility and air travel in the Northern Hemisphere during the summer driving/holiday season is anticipated to bolster demand for transportation fuels and drive growth in the United States," OPEC said in the report.
Oil demand in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region is also expected to pick up between the second and fourth quarters of 2024 amid "stronger mobility and improving economic development," according to the report.
OPEC on Wednesday also raised its prediction for this year's global economic growth from 2.8 percent in last month's report to 2.9 percent, but stuck to its previous forecast for a growth of 2.9 percent in 2025.
