Vitol expects Asia-driven oil demand growth pickup in second half of year

Vitol expects Asia-driven oil demand growth pickup in second half of year

Oil demand is set to pick up in the second half of the year with as much as 2 million barrels per day (bpd) more needed led by Asian growth, a top executive at Vitol, one of the world’s top independent oil traders, said on Monday. “We are going into a second half of the year where, largely on account of Asian demand growth, the world will need around 2 million bpd more,” Mike Muller, president of Vitol Asia, told the Middle East Petroleum and Gas conference in Dubai.

For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app. Seasonally demand will rise and result in stock draws which will mean less excess supply available, Muller said. He also saw any recession being offset by more constructive factors that would affect the oil market and would “manifest itself in a mild recession, if any.”

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