
Trading was also presumably affected by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which said a full demand recovery exceeding pre-pandemic levels would not be achieved until next years thanks to the prevalence of the Delta variant.
OPEC on Monday said it expects oil demand to average 99.70 million barrels per day (bpd) in the fourth quarter of 2021, down 110,000 bpdfrom last month's forecast: "The increased risk of COVID-19 cases primarily fuelled by the Delta variant is clouding oil demand prospects going into the final quarter of the year; as a result,second-half 2021 oil demand has been adjusted slightly lower, partially delaying the oil demand recovery into first-half 2022."
However, OPEC maintained its overall confidence in demand by adding that globally demand in the whole of 2021 would rise by 5.96million bpd or 6.6 percent, virtually unchanged from last month; also, the growth forecast for2022 was adjusted to 4.15 million bpd, compared to 3.28 million bpd in last month's report:"As vaccination rates rise, the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to be better managed and economic activities and mobility will firmly return to pre-COVID-19 levels."