Weaker demand for oil in China, as the economy faces stop-start Covid-19 lockdowns, is outweighing robust crude demand elsewhere in the world and will crimp oil demand growth this year, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday.
In its oil-market report, the IEA lowered its forecasts for Chinese oil demand by 400,000 barrels a day this year to 15 million barrels a day, 420,000 barrels a day less than last year. For 2023, the Paris-based agency lowered its China demand forecasts by 300,000 barrels a day, but still expects demand to rise to 16 million barrels a day as Covid-19 pandemic restrictions are relaxed.