IEA Keeps 2010 Global Oil Demand Unchanged.
Friday, the International Energy Agency kept its global oil demand forecast for the current year unchanged from its previous forecast in December. The estimate for the previous year was also kept unchanged.
In its latest Oil Market Report, the Paris-based IEA said oil demand would be 86.3 mb/day in 2010, up from 84.9 mb/day estimated for 2009. The agency said growth is driven by non-OECD countries, most notably in Asia. Oil demand recovery in the OECD will likely remain sluggish, despite the recent cold weather, it added.
Moreover, the report showed that crude oil prices surged to 15-month highs in early January on very cold winter weather in much of the northern hemisphere and escalating geopolitical tensions in key oil producing countries. At their peak, prices had jumped by around $10-12/bbl from December lows. Prices have since eased, last trading in a $78-80/bbl range.
OPEC-12 crude output rose 75 kb/day to 29.1 mb/day in December, resulting in effective spare capacity of 5.4 mb/day. Further, the agency said global supply rose 270 kb/day in December to 86.2 mb/day, on both higher OPEC and non-OPEC output.
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