Photo caption: OPEC logo
OPEC on Wednesday forecast world oil demand for crude from the wider OPEC+ producer group will drop by 400,000 barrels per day in the second quarter from the first three months of this year, a copy of its monthly oil report on OPEC’s website shows.
World demand for OPEC+ crude will average 42.20 million bpd in the second quarter, OPEC said in the report, down from 42.60 million bpd in the first quarter. Both forecasts were unchanged from last month’s report.
The OPEC+ group comprising OPEC nations, plus Russia and other allies, began raising oil output last year after years of cuts, and paused production hikes in the first quarter of 2026 amid predictions of a glut. Eight OPEC+ members meet on March 1 where they are expected to make a decision on whether to resume the hikes in April.
In the report, OPEC also left unchanged its forecasts that world oil demand will rise by 1.34 million bpd in 2027 and by 1.38 million bpd this year. The 2026 forecast is higher than that of other analysts such as the International Energy Agency.
OPEC+ pumped 42.45 million bpd in January 2026, down 439,000 bpd from December 2025, driven by reductions in Kazakhstan, Russia, Venezuela and Iran, OPEC said in the report.
=== Reuters ===
