Global oil demand won’t hit pre-virus level until 2023, IEA says

Global oil demand won’t hit pre-virus level until 2023, IEA says

Global oil demand won't return to pre-pandemic levels until 2023, and growth will be subdued thereafter amid new working habits and a shift away from fossil fuels, the International Energy Agency said.

Fuel consumption will average just over 101 million barrels a day in 2023, fully recouping the 9 million a day lost last year when lockdowns emptied roads and grounded flights, the IEA said in a report.

But as trends like remote-working endure, and as governments seek to limit climate change, hydrocarbon use will falter. Oil demand in the middle of this decade will be about 2.5 million barrels lower than the agency projected last year. Gasoline consumption has probably peaked already.

Brent crude rose two percent to $70.74 a barrel by 12:12p.m. in Singapore, extending this year's gains to 37 percent

“Oil demand will likely never catch up with its pre-pandemic trajectory,” the Paris-based IEA said Wednesday in its annual medium-term outlook. “There may be no return to ‘normal' for the oil market in the post-Covid era.”

Crude prices have already reversed last year's plunge, rising to almost $70 a barrel in London. It's partly because demand in Asia has held up, but mostly as a result of vast production cuts by the OPEC+ alliance led by