Global oil demand increased by one million barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of 2014, compared with the same period last year, an economic report said.
The report, issued by Jadwa Investment, added that the increase was supported by the economic recovery in the US, the world's largest oil consumer.
The report expects an oil demand increase in the third quarter of this year due to summer season, which is the peak consumption, along with US economic recovery and continued growth in China, which supports global oil demand by 1.1 million barrels per day in 2014.
The report points out that global supply increase will not reduce the price of Brent crude oil. Geopolitical unrest in Ukraine, Libya and Iraq is expected to keep oil prices high as it led to a rise in (Brent) crude from average USD 105 per barrel to USD 109 pb in 2014.
The report referred to revised estimates of Saudi production of crude oil, rising from 4.9 million barrels per day in 2014 to 7.9 million barrels in conjunction with several factors that have recently emerged.
Such factors include the production of the rest of OPEC's members, which was beyond expectations, the recovery of the U.S. economy, in addition to the rapid annual growth of Saudi Arabia's domestic oil consumption.