IEA Does Not Expect Global Oil Demand to Hit Pre-Pandemic Level Until 2023

Global oil demand will not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2023, according to the International Energy Agency report. IEA expects growth to be subdued thereafter amid new working habits and a shift away from fossil fuels. 

• IEA projects fuel consumption to average just over 101 million barrels a day in 2023, fully recouping the 9 million a day lost last year during the pandemic.
• In the middle of this decade, oil demand will be about 2.5 million barrels lower than the IEA projected last year. 
• IEA projects that “there may be no return to ‘normal’ for the oil market in the post-Covid era.”
• The agency predicts that consumption growth will slow, reaching 104.1 million barrels a day in 2026.
• The need for OPEC’s crude will rise from 27.3 million barrels a day this year to reach 30.8 million a day in 2026. 
• Asia is projected to account for 90% of the oil consumption growth, much of it from petrochemicals and gradual revival in aviation fuel.

If governments act on environmental reforms, IEA projects that about 5.6 million barrels of daily oil demand could be eliminated by 2026. Crude prices have reversed from last year’s plunge and have risen to almost $70 a barrel in London due to held-up demand in Asia and OPEC+ production cuts.Oil futures are currently declining. CL! is down 0.73%