The fall in oil prices has taken some time to feed through to consumers. The effect on oil demand growth this year has been much greater than many analysts dared to predict. “Recent months have seen a steady acceleration in global oil demand growth,” the IEA says, spurred by higher economic growth, lower oil prices and a colder-than-average northern hemisphere winter. Global demand is rising by 1.4mn b/d this year, after robust growth of 1.8mn b/d in the frst quarter, the IEA forecasts in its latest Oil Market Report. But in a reversal of recent trends, industrialised countries are integral to the revival, while the developing world’s outlook is less rosy than before. The IEA expects OECD demand to rise by 400,000 b/d this year, compared with a 100,000 b/d decline in its projections a year ago. Non-OECD demand growth forecasts have been cut to 1mn b/d from 1.5mn b/d over the same period (see graph, left).
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