Oil prices drop as OPEC cuts forecasts for demand growth

New York, U.S. | Xinhua | Oil prices fell on Wednesday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) lowered its global oil demand growth estimates for both 2022 and 2023.

The West Texas Intermediate for November delivery decreased 2.08 U.S. dollars, or 2.3 percent, to settle at 87.27 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for December delivery lost 1.84 dollars, or 2 percent, to settle at 92.45 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

In its closely-watched monthly report released on Wednesday, OPEC cut its estimate for growth in global demand of oil, citing an increasingly uncertain outlook for the world economy.

OPEC forecast oil demand to grow by 2.64 million barrels a day this year, down by 460,000 barrels per day from its September projection, showed the report. Growth in 2023 was also revised down.

Traders awaited data on U.S. fuel stockpiles as the U.S. Energy Information Administration is set to release its weekly petroleum status report on Thursday. Analysts polled by S&P Global Commodity Insights expect U.S. crude supplies to show a rise of 2.2 million barrels during the week ending Oct. 7.