IEA: 08 Oil Demand Seen at Fastest Clip in Years

Global energy consumption is seen rising at its fastest clip in recent years in 2008 but high oil prices persisting above $70 a barrel may steadily eat away at demand, the International Energy Agency said Friday.

The Paris-based agency, in its monthly oil market report, also conceded that it had been too upbeat in its forecasts for oil production by rival producers to OPEC, such as the U.S., Norway and the U.K.


The IEA forecasts 2008 world oil demand growth of 2.5% at 2.2 million barrels a day. The outlook is largely driven by expectations for a more normal and colder winter in the U.S. and Europe and robust industrial demand in China and the Middle East.

The Paris-based agency, which monitors energy markets on behalf of the world’s 26 most-advanced economies, trimmed its 2007 world oil demand outlook by 100,000 barrels a day to 86.0 million barrels a day as more accurate U.S. and European data was logged. Demand this year is expected to represent growth of 1.8%, or 1.5 million barrels a day, over 2006.

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