OPEC kept its forecast for global oil supply and demand in 2026 unchanged, indicating that the world market will maintain balance, which contradicts widely anticipated oversupply. OPEC and its allies will need to produce an average of 43 million barrels of oil per day next year to balance supply and demand, which is roughly equivalent to last month's production. Major OPEC+ member states acknowledged last month that the market situation is weak, and after rapidly increasing production earlier this year, they agreed to suspend further production increases in the first quarter.

OPEC kept its forecast for global oil supply and demand in 2026 unchanged, indicating that the world market will maintain balance, which contradicts widely anticipated oversupply. OPEC and its allies will need to produce an average of 43 million barrels of oil per day next year to balance supply and demand, which is roughly equivalent to last month's production. Major OPEC+ member states acknowledged last month that the market situation is weak, and after rapidly increasing production earlier this year, they agreed to suspend further production increases in the first quarter.