Kuala Lumpur — Global oil market fundamentals are expected to remain sound for the rest of the year, underpinned by healthy demand in developing countries, especially in China and India, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said on Monday.
“Overall, we believe that oil market fundamentals remain generally sound for the rest of the year,” Nasser told the Energy Asia conference, hosted by Malaysia’s state oil firm Petronas.
“Despite the recession risks in several OECD countries, the economies of developing countries – especially China and India – are driving healthy oil demand growth of more than 2 million barrels per day this year,” he said.
Although China is facing some economic headwinds, the transport and petrochemical sectors are still showing signs of demand growth, he added.
Brent crude futures are down about 14% since the start of the year as rising interest rates hit investor appetite while China’s promising economic recovery has faltered after several months of softer-than-expected consumption, production and property market data.
Crude oil supplies from Russia and Iran have also held up despite Western sanctions, offsetting production cuts by Saudi Arabia and other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
*Muyu Xu; Florence Tan; Editing: Christopher Cushing & Himani Sarkar – Reuters
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