Less Oil Demand Seen

The International Energy Agency on Wednesday lowered its estimate of global oil demand this year, citing a sudden drop in Chinese consumption.

After growing 11 percent in 2003 and 15.4 percent last year, China reported its oil use dropped by 1 percent in the second quarter of this year from a year earlier, the agency said.

The drop is the latest in a series of unclear and often conflicting indications about whether the Chinese economy is still growing strongly.

Top International Energy Agency officials said in interviews that they believed the decline was temporary, and that they expected Chinese demand to recover in the second half of this year. If it does not, world oil prices could fall, they added.
NYT via International Herald Tribune