Oil Prices Fall as OPEC and IEA Slash 2026 Demand Outlooks
South Korean Fleet Reshuffle Creates Asia’s Largest LNG Carrier Operator What I Cover Tsvetana Paraskova is an energy and commodities journalist who has contributed to Oilprice.com for nearly a decade, covering global energy markets, commodities,… Despite the ongoing stalemate in the U.S.-Iran talks and persistent risks to shipping in the Middle East, oil prices fell in Asian trading on Thursday, weighed down by cuts to 2026 oil demand forecasts from both OPEC and the International Energy Agency.
Brent Crudeprices dropped by 0.5% to trade below $89 per barrel at $88.56, easing from the Wednesday intraday high of over $89 a barrel, amid demand concerns and a bearish EIA inventory report.
benchmark,WTI Crude, traded 0.60% lower at $82.77 in the Asian session.
On Wednesday, both OPEC and the IEA slashed their oil demand forecasts for 2026 due to the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The IEA expects in its Augustmonthly reportthat oil demand will slump by 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) this year.
That’s a 510,000 bpd decline from the expected figure in the July report, which had assumed the Strait of Hormuz oil flows would gradually rise.
However, the renewed hostilities at the end of July and the deadlock in U.S.-Iran talks have prompted the IEA to project much larger demand destruction due to higher prices than were expected in early July.
OPECalso cutits demand forecast for 2026 on Wednesday.
Unlike the IEA, the cartel expects demand growth, although its outlook was slashed to 580,000 bpd, down from the 780,000 bpd growth expected in the July report.
Also weighing on oil prices was a surprise big build in U.S.
crude oil inventories, which saw amassive increase of 17.4 million barrelsduring the week ending August 7, per data from the U.S.
Energy Information Administration (EIA) out on Wednesday.
| Product | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Brent Crude | $102.14/bbl | +0.34% |
| WTI Crude | $96.90/bbl | +0.21% |
| EN590 Diesel | $846/MT | +0.18% |
| Jet Fuel A-1 | $1090/MT | +0.55% |
| Mazut M100 | $450/MT | -0.15% |
| Bitumen 60/70 | $470/MT | +0.08% |
| Sulphur Gran 99.5% | $470/MT | -0.44% |
| Urea 46% Gran | $650/MT | +1.12% |
| NPK 16-16-16 | $460/MT | -0.28% |
| Nat Gas TTF | $15.42/MMBtu | +0.92% |
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