RIYADH: Amid supply cuts from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, oil demand in countries included in the Joint Organizations Data Initiative remained at a five-year seasonal high in July. According to the latest JODI report, demand was up by 3.24 million barrels per day in July compared to the same month last year. The report further stated that India, China and the US drove this increase. However, oil demand in JODI-reporting countries witnessed a decline of 3 million bpd in July compared to June. Aligned with the output cut decision of OPEC+, Saudi Arabia’s crude production for July fell by 943,000 bpd to 9.01 million bpd, while its crude exports dipped by 792,000 bpd to 6.01 million bpd, a 25-month low. Moreover, the Kingdom’s product inventories increased by 4.65 million barrels, while crude stockpiles fell by 2.96 million barrels. In April, OPEC+ decided to reduce oil output by 1.2 million bpd, with Saudi Arabia pledging to cut production by 500,000 bpd. The Kingdom implemented an additional 1 million bpd cut in June, a decision which was later extended until December 2023. In June, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman urged everyone to trust OPEC+, and he hailed it as the most effective international organization working hard to maintain market stability. According to the report, the Kingdom’s crude and oil products closing stocks rose by 1.69 million barrels to 236.75 million in July. On the other hand, China’s crude imports in July fell by 2.3 million bpd to 10.32 million. Chinese demand fell by 2.71 million bpd to 15.31 million in July but was still up 2.11 million bpd from year-ago levels. The report further noted that Japan’s crude inventories increased by 5.97 million barrels in July to a 10-month high, while Spain’s gasoline demand rose to a 15-year high. JODI also added that Italy’s gasoline demand rose to an eight-year high in July.