Global oil supply will struggle to meet demand in 2023: IEA

Global oil supply will struggle to meet demand in 2023: IEA

News















Bloomberg

Global oil supply will struggle to meet rising demand next year, meaning consumers will continue to face tight fuel markets, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its first assessment of 2023.

A resurgent Chinese economy will bolster consumption, while tighter sanctions on Russia will curtail oil output, the agency forecast in its latest monthly report. The Opec+ coalition of producers would need to deplete its spare production capacity to historically low levels to satisfy demand, it said.

The estimates from the IEA suggest little prospect of respite for households from high energy prices. Crude has climbed more than 50% this year to trade near $120 a barrel in London, as supplies fail to satisfy the post-pandemic rebound in fuel demand.

Rampant inflation is battering the global economy, raising expectations of sharp interest rate increases and a possible recession. The political urgency to tackle the problem was underscored by the announcement that President Joe Biden will travel to Saudi Arabia next month in an effort to stabilise relations with the world’s biggest crude exporter.

“Global oil supply may struggle to keep pace with demand next year, as tighter sanctions