OPEC cut its forecasts for oil demand growth this year and next on Wednesday, highlighting weakness in China, India and other regions in the producer group's fifth consecutive downward revision.

OPEC cut oil demand growth forecasts for this year and next for a fifth straight month, making its deepest reduction to the 2024 outlook so far after agreeing to extend its supply curbs.

The Vienna-based cartel cut its forecast for oil-demand growth for the fifth consecutive month after further postponing plans to increase output amid softer prices and market concerns over weaker global consumption.

Oil prices continued its steady move higher on Wednesday, up around 1.27% at the time of writing. This is a slight surprise given that OPEC downgraded its 2024 and 2025 forecasts.

It was barely half a year ago when the member countries of the OPEC+ oil cartel announced plans to unwind deep cuts in production and exports beginning October 1.

Global oil demand is expected to rise by 1.61 million barrels per day in 2024, a slight downwards revision from last month’s forecast of 1.82 million bpd, according to the latest figures released in Opec’s monthly oil market report on Wednesday.