Saudi Aramco sees ‘sound’ oil outlook for second half on China, India demand

Saudi Aramco sees ‘sound’ oil outlook for second half on China, India demand

Saudi Aramco believes market fundamentals remain “sound” for the second half as demand from emerging markets led by China and India will offset recession risk in developed markets, CEO Amin Nasser told an industry gathering on Monday.But other executives at the Energy Asia conference in Kuala Lumpur were divided, with Malaysia state oil firm Petronasreporting a slowdown in demand for petroleum and petrochemicals in the second quarter and growing refinery capacity putting pressure on the market.

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“Overall, we believe that oil market fundamentals remain generally sound for the rest of the year,” said Nasser, who heads the world’s largest oil company.“Despite the recession risks in several OECD countries, the economies of developing countries -- especially China and India -- are driving healthy oil demand growth of more than 2 million barrels per day this year,” he told the conference.Although China faces economic headwinds, the transport and petrochemical sectors are still showing signs of demand growth, he added.Brent crude futures are down about 14 percent since the start of the year as rising interest rates hit investor appetite, while China’s promising economic recovery has faltered after several months of