This week has been quite tumultuous in the oil markets, starting off with a pervasive feeling of demand gloom yet recording a weekly gain in the end, greatly aided by flat US inflation data and pipeline supply disruptions in Europe. One of the most interesting developments has been the increasingly diverging worldview of OPEC and the IEA. OPEC has been lowering its demand forecasts for 2022, this week by another 260,000 b/d on the back of recessionary pressures, whilst the International Energy Agency has increased its outlook, effectively arguing that elevated gas prices will be incentivizing higher crude utilization.
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