The global economic outlook and oil market prospects show signs of continued improvement, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo said on Tuesday.

Barkindo's remarks at the 49th Joint Technical Committee (JTC) came ahead of the 27th meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) and the 14th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting (ONOMM) to be held on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. The group will decide on the production quota after March.

He highlighted the improving outlook for the global oil market and the world economy at large, emphasizing the need to stay the course on restoring sustainable oil market stability.

Barkindo said the pandemic-induced oil demand shock was left behind, and “oil demand remains on course to grow by 5.8 million barrels per day to around 96 million barrels per day.”

He emphasized “cautious optimism" regarding an economic and oil demand rebound in Asia.

He stressed that the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose downside risks to the recovery, citing data showing that new global infections rose in the last week of February for the first time in seven weeks.

“Progress on COVID-19 vaccinations continues in many countries, but the current pace shows that many developing countries risk being left behind. We hold out hope that the multilateral and multiparty efforts will support inclusive and speedy worldwide access to inoculations,” he said./aa