Before the report, the price of the crude had hovered at $61.50 per barrel because of the prolonged Coronavirus pandemic, which discouraged increased use of oil.

But the current MOMR, stated: “For 2021, additional US stimulus measures and accelerating recovery in Asian economies are expected to continue supporting the global economic growth forecast, which is now revised up to 5.4%.

“However, this forecast remains clouded by uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the spread of COVID-19 variants and the speed of the vaccine rollout. In addition, sovereign debt levels in many regions, inflationary pressures, and central bank responses are key factors to monitor.

“After a contraction of 3.5% in 2020, US economic growth in 2021 is now expected to reach 5.7%. The Gross Domestic Product, GDP growth forecast for the Euro-zone in 2021 remains at 4.3%, which follows a contraction of 6.8% last year. Japan’s GDP growth forecast remains at 3.1% for 2021, after a contraction of 4.9% in 2020.

“Following growth of 2.3% in 2020, China’s GDP is forecast to increase by 8.4% in 2021. India’s 2021 GDP growth forecast is revised up to 9.8%, compared to a contraction of 7% in 2020. Brazil’s growth forecast remains unchanged at 3.0%, with government estimates showing Brazil’s economy contracted by 4.1% in 2020. Russia’s growth forecast for 2021 remains at 3%, after contracting by 3.1% in 2020. The global oil demand contraction in 2020 is revised lower by about 0.1 mb/d compared to last month’s MOMR, now showing a contraction of about 9.5 mb/d y-o-y, with total world oil demand at 90.5 mb/d.”