WORLD oil demand growth was softening at a remarkable pace as the European and Chinese economies faltered, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said yesterday, while supplies grew steadily, particularly from North America.
“The recent slowdown in demand growth is nothing short of remarkable,” the IEA said in its monthly report, revising down its oil demand growth projections for both 2014 and 2015. “While festering conflicts in Iraq and Libya show no sign of abating, their effect on global oil market balances and prices remains muted amid weakening oil demand growth and plentiful supply,” it added. Demand growth in the second quarter of 2014 alone eased back to a near two-and-a-half year low. For the whole of 2014, the IEA reduced its oil demand growth projection by 65 000 barrels per day (bpd) to 900 000 bpd while for 2015 it cut its estimate by 100 000 bpd to 1.2 million bpd. Oil prices fell below $100 (R1 096) per barrel this month for the first time in over a year, weighed down by a combination of slowing demand growth and abundant supplies. – Reuters