NEW YORK, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices advanced on Thursday after the International Energy Agency (IEA) raised its forecast for global oil demand growth.
The West Texas Intermediate for September delivery added 2.41 U.S. dollars, or 2.6 percent, to settle at 94.34 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for October delivery increased 2.2 dollars, or nearly 2.3 percent, to close at 99.60 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
In its monthly report released on Thursday, the IEA hiked its 2022 oil demand growth estimate by 380,000 barrels a day (b/d) to 2.1 million b/d, citing "soaring" oil use in power generation and gas-to-oil switching in industry prompted by the Ukraine crisis and surging gas prices.
Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on Thursday cut its 2022 demand growth estimate on Thursday to 3.1 million b/d from 3.4 million b/d, citing COVID-19 and geopolitical worries.
