With parts of the world reopening, oil demand is heating up, and as the pandemic subsides, the IEA expects rising demand will accelerate. The FT reports:
Oil demand is expected to exceed pre-coronavirus levels by the end of 2022, the International Energy Agency said on Friday, with the body calling on world producers to “open the taps”.
Consumption declined by a record 8.6m barrels a day last year as coronavirus raged around the world. It is expected to rebound by 5.4m b/d this year as vaccines are rolled out and countries open up again.
In 2022, the IEA expects a further 3.1m b/d increase, to average 99.5m b/d with an increase at the end of the year that will surpass the level of demand before the coronavirus crisis took hold.
Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, ticked 0.2 per cent higher to $72.66, after closing at its highest since May 2019 on Thursday.
The agency reiterated that Opec and its allies needed to “open the taps” to boost oil production and keep the world well supplied. The so-called Opec+ group is expected to raise production by 2m b/d between May and July.
Still, the Paris-based body warned in its monthly oil market report that “the recovery will be uneven not only among regions but across sectors and products”.
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