The oil price hovered between 35/b and 36/b on 16 January after the International Energy Agency (IEA) cut its forecast for world oil demand in its latest (January 2009) Oil Market Report, and two of the biggest US banks reported huge losses. Forecasting a two-year contraction in oil demand, the first to occur since 1982 and 1983, the IEA now projects global oil demand at 85.3mn b/d in 2009, down 0.6% (or 500,000 b/d) year-on-year from 2008. The 2008 estimate has also been revised downwards by 70,000 b/d, to 85.8mn b/d, a reduction of 0.3% (or 300,000 b/d) compared with 2007.
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