The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) revised its monthly forecast of the growth in global oil consumption for 2026 sharply downward in its latest report published on Wednesday.
OPEC forecast in its August report that global oil demand would grow by 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2006 year-on-year, 25 percent down from July's forecast of 800,000 barrels bpd.
A major contributor to the downward revision is the Asia market where China, India and other Asian countries are forecast to have weaker year-on-year growth in oil demand in 2026, the report said.
Despite the lower forecast for 2026, the August report revised upwards OPEC's forecast for 2027 oil demand to about 2.2 million bpd year-on-year, compared with last month's estimate of 1.9 million bpd. The report said that Asia, along with Europe, is expected to drive that growth as demand recovers.
OPEC lowers monthly oil demand growth forecasts
The Chinese and Indonesian navies successfully completed a naval navigation exercise in waters east of China's Taiwan Island on Wednesday, according to Chinese military authorities.
The exercise involved the Chinese naval vessel Honghe and Indonesian Navy frigate KRI I Gusti Ngurah Rai, a military statement said.
During the exercise, the two warships formed a naval formation and conducted practical drills covering maritime communications, formation maneuvers, underway replenishment, and a parting ceremony.
During the communications drill, crews from both navies practiced real-time maritime information exchange, tactical order transmission, and flag semaphore signaling.
"In this joint exercise with a foreign navy, all tactical communication brevity codes and signal flag procedures strictly followed international standards, effectively validating our maritime communication and information exchange capabilities with naval vessels of other nations,"said Gao Yongjie, an officer aboard the Chinese naval vessel Honghe.
After that, the two vessels transitioned to an underway replenishment exercise. Operating under a pre-coordinated replenishment plan, both ships executed precise maneuvering to assume their designated replenishment stations.
"At-sea replenishment places high demands on ship maneuvering and command coordination. Through this exercise, we have continuously refined the at-sea replenishment command procedures with the Indonesian naval vessel, enhancing our mutual coordination and interoperability," said Jin Xiasheng, another officer aboard the Honghe.
The exercise demonstrated the two navies' willingness and capability to conduct practical cooperation and jointly contribute to regional peace and stability, said a statement from the Chinese military.
China, Indonesia wrap up naval navigation exercise in waters east of Taiwan Island
