OPEC cuts Q4 global demand forecast, US oil falls near $80 at one point in the session

U.S. oil ended Thursday (Nov. 11) down $0.16, or 0.2%, to close at $81.18 per barrel. Earlier the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut its oil demand forecast for 2021 due to high oil prices, with oil prices once falling to near $80. Meanwhile as inflation reaches multi-decade highs, US President Joe Biden is facing increasing pressure, including from party insiders, to act on rising energy prices. His options include releasing strategic oil reserves or even banning oil exports, putting pressure on oil prices.

OPEC said in a monthly report that it expects average oil demand to be 99.49 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter of 2021, 330,000 barrels per day lower than last month's forecast. Demand growth expectations for this year were cut by 160,000 bpd to 5.65 million bpd. The upward revision of forecasts for next year's supply from US shale producers could create headwinds for the organisation and its allies in their efforts to balance the market now assumes that the pace of recovery will slow in the fourth quarter of 2021 due to higher energy prices. The organisation also cited slower-than-expected demand from India as a reason for the downward revision of the forecast.