OPEC is optimistic that accelerating vaccination programs and rising fuel demand will raise global oil demand by 5.95 million barrel per day (bpd) this year despite the current COVID crisis in India, the cartel said on Tuesday, keeping its demand outlook unchanged from last month. World oil demand is set to average 96.5 million bpd in 2021, OPEC said in its closely-watched Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) today. This would be nearly 6 million bpd higher than the demand last year, with the acceleration expected in the second half of 2021. OPEC revised down its estimates for global oil demand for the second quarter by 300,000 bpd due to lower-than-expected demand in North America in the first quarter and the COVID resurgence in India and Brazil. However, the organization raised its outlook for oil demand for both the third and fourth quarters of 2021 by 150,000 bpd and 290,000 […]