IEA to cut oil demand forecast

Owing to a worldwide slowdown and rising trade tensions between US & China, the International Energy Agency has reduced its 2019 oil demand growth forecast to 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd). In 2018, it had projected the growth to be 1.5 million bpd in 2019. This was later revised to 1.2 million bpd in June’19 & 1.1 million bpd at present.

“China is experiencing its slowest economic growth in the last three decades, so are some of the advanced economies … if the global economy performs even poorer than we assume, then we may even look at our numbers once again in the next months to come,” Fatih Birol, IEA’s Executive Director said. Oil demand has slowed down in the US as well, the agency noted. While 2.2 million bpd increase was recorded in US last year, the growth estimate for this year is 1.8 million bpd.

The agency also expressed concerns over rising Middle East tensions (around rising Middle East tensions) which could harm the shipments of Gulf oil to Asia, Europe, North America and elsewhere.