HOUSTON: Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell below $70 a barrel on Tuesday for the first time since December 2021, after Opec+ revised down its demand forecast for this year and 2025.

Brent crude futures were down $2.62, or 3.65 per cent, at $69.22 a barrel at 1:14 p.m. EDT (1715 GMT). US West Texas Interm­ediate (WTI) crude lost $2.90, or 4.22 per cent, to $65.81.

Both benchmarks dropped by more than $3 during the session, after each rose by about 1 per cent on Monday. WTI crude futures fell more than 5 per cent on Tuesday, hitting their lowest levels since May 2023.

On Tuesday, the Organ­ization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) in a monthly report said world oil demand would rise by 2.03 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024, down from last month’s forecast for growth of 2.11 million bpd.

Until last month, Opec had kept the forecast unchanged since it was first made in July 2023.

Opec also cut its 2025 global demand growth estimate to 1.74 million bpd from 1.78 million bpd. Prices slid on the weakening global demand prospects and expectations of oil oversupply.

On Monday, Chinese data showed consumer inflation accelerated in August to its fastest in half a year, though domestic demand remained fragile, and producer price deflation worsened.

“There’s almost no oil demand growth in the advanced economies this year. Fiscal stimulus in China has not boosted the construction sector; that’s one big reason Chinese demand for diesel is shrinking,” said Clay Seigle, an oil market strategist.

Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2024