Global oil demand will increase by two per cent this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said today, revising upwards an earlier estimate by about 400,000 barrels per day and warning the market will be tight.
"Global oil product demand is revised up to...86.1 million barrels per day for 2007," the IEA said.
"World demand is now estimated to rise by 2.0 per cent or 1.7 million barrels a day in 2007, the agency said in its monthly oil market report.
The agency said that the increase was the result in part of a big adjustment of previous demand data.
It also highlighted unexpectedly strong figures from leading countries outside the group of 30 industrialised nations in the organisation for Economic Cooperation and development.
The IEA's monthly report on state of the oil market referred to "growth reappraisal in 2006 for various big non-OECD countries in light of new data."
But it also said that world supply in May fell by 565,000 barrels a day to 84.9 million barrels.
Last month the agency had reduced its forecast figure for global demand for oil in 2007 by 0.1 million barrels per day from its estimate in April, to 85.7 million barrels owing to mild weather in the northern hemisphere and a slightly lower forecast for demand in China. But it warned that oil prices could climb this year because supplies might tighten.
{{/usCountry}}Last month the agency had reduced its forecast figure for global demand for oil in 2007 by 0.1 million barrels per day from its estimate in April, to 85.7 million barrels owing to mild weather in the northern hemisphere and a slightly lower forecast for demand in China. But it warned that oil prices could climb this year because supplies might tighten.
{{/usCountry}}The IEA, which has been at odds with OPEC over the need to pump more crude to ease prices repeated today that the oil market would be tight in the second half of this year, and risked pushing up prices further.