Global oil demand growth is forecast to rise by only 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2015 to reach 93.3 million bpd, a cut back of 230,000 bpd from growth predictions a month earlier, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday.
In its latest "Oil Market Report (OMR)" for November, the energy agency said that the downward revision was based on predictions for lower demand in "the former Soviet Union (FSU) and other oil exporting countries." The report added that the rising strength of the dollar and the removal of price subsidies are also bringing down demand growth.
Given factors today, the agency also said that overall demand in 2014 is predicted to average 92.4 mbpd.
The IEA also noted that "oil prices continued to plunge in November and into early December...Brent was last trading at a five-year low of USD 64.05 per barrel, down 40 percent from June and WTI at USD 60.45 per barrel." Global production in November fell slightly by 340,000 b/d and was pegged at 94.1 mbpd by the Paris-based IEA.
Year-on-year production gains of 2.1 mbpd in November were split evenly by OPEC and non-OPEC producers and OPEC's monthly production was estimated at 30.32 mbpd, a decline of 315,000 b/d from Ocotber. The "call on OPEC crude" and inventory change is now revised downwards to 28.9 mbpd, a drop of 300,000 b/d, the OMR indicated.
In the lower-price environment, stock levels in the industrialised OECD countries rose to their highest levels in more than two years and were built up "counter-seasonally" to 2.72 billion barrels, the IEA said.