Slowing global oil demand growth next year, spiking food prices, and fears of recession in major oil-importing countries are set to slow economic growth in the Middle East.

Putin and MBS discuss OPEC+ and oil markets in phone call.
Russia and Saudi Arabia saw the largest production gains within the group of producers in June.
The phone call is just the latest in a series of calls between Saudi Arabia and Russia.

High fuel prices is beginning to weigh on consumption.
The IEA has slashed its demand forecast, revising down its estimates by 100,000 bpd.
“Higher prices and a deteriorating economic environment have started to take their toll on oil demand,” the agency said.

Though oil prices are on the rise across the globe, China is seeing prices fall.
Western sanctions against Russia have left Moscow willing to unload its crude at mind-bending discounts.
China is taking advantage of the current geopolitical climate, buying up as much Russian oil as it can.

Underinvestment in oil and gas in the past few years is seen as one of the main reasons for the current imbalance between supply and demand.
G7 nations have acknowledged the need for increased investment in foreign gas projects.
Big oil CEOs are calling for stability and consistency in government policies in order to boost investment.

The price of gasoline has climbed above $5 per gallon.
U.S. fuel exports have continued to rise, adding additional pressure on domestic fuel inventories.
“With refiners already running at full tilt, something has to give,” BloombergNEF analyst Danny Adkins told Bloomberg.

Middle Eastern refiners could be processing some 8.8 million bpd of crude next year.
4 Middle Eastern nations are currently building out their refining capacity.
This increase is roughly equal to the amount of Russian fuels the European Union has embargoed.

​After a brief hiatus, the oil price rally is back on track. Crude oil closed with its seventh straight weekly gain thanks to tight fuel supplies sustaining bullish sentiment. After a brief fall on Friday following news that U.S. inflation surged to a fresh 40-year high, WTI crude rebounded to end the week with a 1.5% gain to trade at $122.40/barrel, while Brent crude settled 1.9% higher at $124.03.

WSJ: full oil embargo could send Russian production to 9.6 million bpd.
IEA estimates that Russia already shut in nearly 1 million bpd in April.
Russian Finance Minister Siluanov. production could drop by 17 percent this year due to the sanctions.

China's biggest refiner sees growing fuel demand in China.
China manufacturing PMI, a barometer for Chinese oil demand, has come in at 47.4 in April’s official data.
PetroChina: "With the improvement of the COVID situation, refined product inventory is now showing a downturn,".

OPEC+ concludes Ministerial meeting with very small additional production increase.
OPEC leaves EU ban of Russian crude undiscussed.
EU sanction drive against Russia has proved to be a boon for OPEC producers.
OPEC is unlikely to materially increase production as EU looks for alternative suppliers.

Chinese COVID-19 lockdowns will be a much bigger threat to regional demand in Asia than initially assumed.
Looming EU-ban on Russian crude may further improve demand for Middle East crude grades.
Middle East producers continue to hike prices, but not as aggressively as anticipated.