Pandemic Punches 1.7-Billion-Barrel Hole in Global Oil Demand

Pandemic Punches 1.7-Billion-Barrel Hole in Global Oil Demand

IEA, EIA and OPEC agree on scale of demand destruction as lock-downs pass their peak. The IEA alone forecast a drop in excess of 20 million barrels a day.. All three still see the situation improving dramatically in the second half of the year.. The IEA and the EIA see it around 5 million barrels a day below last year's levels in the third quarter, while OPEC is less optimistic, with its forecast still showing a year-on-year loss of more than 8 million barrels a day.. The IEA and OPEC see producers everywhere pumping in excess of 10 million barrels a day less than they were a year earlier.. Even if oil demand returns to pre-virus levels in 2021, which remains an optimistic view, oil producers will remain under pressure while excess inventories are drawn down..