Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Amin Nasser said on Tuesday he expects oil demand to grow by between 1.6 million and 2 million barrels per day in the second half of this year, adding that market fundamentals do not support the current decline in oil prices.
Nasser, who heads the world's most profitable oil company, expects global oil demand to reach 104.7 million barrels per day in 2024, also pointing to expectations of demand exceeding 106 million barrels per day in the second half of the year.
Brent crude was trading at around $76.6 on Tuesday, its lowest since January. Traders said this was driven by expectations that slowing economic growth would reduce demand even as supply concerns escalate due to tensions in the Middle East.
"In my opinion, the market is overreacting and the fundamentals do not support the price decline that we are seeing today," Nasser said on an earnings call.
He also noted that he expects demand in China to increase in the second half of the year to 17.5 million barrels per day.
“I would also like to add that there seems to be a continued upward revision of demand by a number of forecasters and agencies, which makes it difficult to make data-driven investment decisions as revisions continue to surprise the market to some extent,” Nasser said.
Nasser also explained that he expects governments to support strategic crude stockpiles and that this would further contribute to “good demand for oil over the next few months.” He did not specify which countries.
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