OPEC says high prices to dampen pace of oil demand recovery

Slowdown in pace of recovery in fourth quarter of 2021 now assumed due to elevated energy prices

OPEC also cited slower-than-expected demand in China and India for the downward revision.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut its world oil demand forecast for the last quarter of 2021 as high energy prices curb the recovery from Covid-19, delaying the timeline for a return to pre-pandemic levels of oil use until later in 2022.

In a monthly report, it also raised its supply forecast from US shale producers next year, a potential headwind to the efforts of the group and its allies, known as OPEC+, to balance the market.