OPEC sees well supported oil market in 2022, despite Omicron
The Hindu
OPEC on Tuesday stuck to its forecast for robust growth in world oil demand in 2022 despite the Omicron coronavirus variant and expected interest-rate hikes, predicting that the oil market would remai
OPEC on Tuesday stuck to its forecast for robust growth in world oil demand in 2022 despite the Omicron coronavirus variant and expected interest-rate hikes, predicting that the oil market would remain well supported through the year.
In a monthly report, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said it expected world oil demand to rise by 4.15 million barrels per day (bpd) this year, unchanged from its forecast last month.
"Monetary actions are not expected to hinder underlying global economic growth momentum, but rather serve to recalibrate otherwise overheating economies," OPEC said in the report.
![](/newspic/picid-1269750-20250211011510.jpg)
The Union Budget unveiled on February 1, 2025, has come at a time of unprecedented global uncertainty and a flagging domestic economy. The real GDP growth is estimated at 6.4% for 2024-25 and between 6.3-6.8% for 2025-26, a far cry from >8 percent growth required annually to make India a developed nation by 2047. While much attention has been devoted to the demand stimulus through income tax cuts, not enough is said about the proposed reforms in urban development, tariff rationalisation, and regulatory simplification aimed at making Indian cities and corporates more competitive. Since the majority of economic activity is located in cities (urban areas account for ~55% of GDP) and produced by large corporates (~40% of the national output and 55% of India’s exports), the above-mentioned reforms have a pivotal role in improving India’s trend growth rate. Below we unpack each reform.