In early Asia trade, Brent crude oil futures continued to decline due to OPEC's downward revision of global oil demand growth forecasts.

As of 12:00 Beijing time, the price of Brent crude December contract was $75.18 per barrel, down $2.28 per barrel from the settlement price on October 14, when the contract's settlement price fell by $1.58 per barrel from the previous trading day.

NYMEX crude oil November contract price was $71.66 per barrel, down $2.17 per barrel from the settlement price on October 14, when the contract's settlement price dropped $1.73 per barrel from the previous trading day.

OPEC has lowered its global oil demand growth forecasts for 2024 and 2025 for the third consecutive month, slightly aligning its forecasts with other long-term expectations of lower consumption.

In its latest Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), the oil-producing country group revised down its demand growth forecast for 2024 by 0.11 million barrels per day to 1.93 million barrels per day, mainly due to demand changes in China and the Middle East region.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is expected to release its monthly oil market report on October 15, and its annual World Energy Outlook on October 16.

Strength in the US dollar could increase pressure on oil demand, as dollar-denominated crude oil would be more expensive for imports. The US dollar index, which measures the dollar against a basket of other currencies, rose to its highest level since early August on October 14.

In terms of supply, Libya's crude oil exports in October have been revised to 0.888 million barrels per day, an increase of 75% from September loading levels, but still below the pre-blockade level of 1 million barrels per day.

(The above content is from Argus, an independent international energy and commodity price assessment agency)