A return to growth

摘要

Global oil demand is growing again for the first time in almost two years. But growth has so far been concentrated in a few key products and in the emerging markets of Asia-Pacific. Rising fourth-quarter consumption figures were largely driven by demand for feedstocks from the petrochemical industry - an indicator that manufacturing may be starting to revive. Data for the 14 oil consuming countries monitored by Argus* show an 8pc increase in demand for "other products", which include naphtha and LPG, both widely used as petrochemical feedstocks. In Japan and South Korea, naphtha sales rose by 15pc in November-December.