World oil demand this year will be slightly higher than previously expected, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday, because of growth in developing countries.
The agency lifted its absolute demand estimates for 2009 and 2010 by 70,000 barrels per day (bpd) from its estimate in February. It now expects world demand to average 86.57 million bpd this year.
Growth in demand will be 1.57 million bpd in 2010 compared with the previous year, the Paris-based adviser to 28 industrialised economies said, maintaining its forecast from last month.
“We revised up figures for both 2009 and 2010 on the basis of strong non-OECD demand,” David Fyfe, head of the oil industry and markets division of the IEA, told Reuters. “The trend in demand growth is very similar to last month’s.”
The IEA remains the most optimistic among the three major forecasters on the prospects for oil demand growth this year. OPEC expects an expansion of 880,000 bpd, while the U.S. government’s energy forecaster predicts growth of 1.5 million bpd.
“We are still seeing strong growth from emerging markets, especially Asia. However, OECD demand still looks sluggish,” Fyfe said.
The agency said in its monthly oil market report that China’s oil demand, or refinery output plus net oil product import, rose 28 percent in January from a year earlier.
It also raised Chinese oil product demand forecast by 130,000 bpd from the previous report to reach 9 million bpd this year on back of a large 510,000 bpd upward revision just for the first quarter.
That is a 6.2 percent increase from 2009.
International benchmark US crude futures rose 58 cents to $82.69 a barrel by 1118 GMT. (Reuters)
