Oil demand is however also expected to rise on gas-to-oil switching
The US crude oil benchmark (Western Texas Intermediate) climbed to over US$81 ($109) recently, the highest price seen since end-2014. Crude oil benchmarks in general have also risen along with a slew of other energy commodities thanks to rising demand for oil, although overall demand is notably not yet at pre-Covid-19 levels.
After oil consumption cratered last year thanks to a literal global lockdown on movement, oil demand has rebounded sharply and is currently on a steady and less precipitous rise as compared to energy prices. On the outlook in the coming quarters, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has lowered the forecast for oil demand in 2021 likely over concerns of the Delta variant slowing down economic activity for much of the year.
