Oil Investments: OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais expressed optimism about oil demand and highlighted the risk of under-investment to energy security. He emphasized the importance of continued investment in the oil and gas industry, stating that calls to stop investing in oil are counterproductive. Al Ghais stated that oil demand is expected to be resilient this year, with year-on-year demand growth forecasted to be more than 2.3 million barrels per day.
"We have seen very strong demand coming out of India the past year, in a way similar to many of the other Asian countries. The trajectory is strong and we are expecting it to continue. And in fact, if you are looking at our oil demand projections, India and China are the main leaders of growth, whereas we are expecting a bit more of an economic downturn in the West."
Morgan Stanley raised its Brent price forecast for the third quarter to $85 per barrel from $75, and for the fourth quarter to $82.50 from $70. The global benchmark was trading around $84 a barrel on Friday.