IEA Trims Global Oil Demand Forecast

Paris, France, June 29, 2009--The International Energy Agency cut its medium term forecast for global oil demand by 3.7% compared with its previous estimate.

The IEA said it expects global oil demand by 2013 to average 87.90 million barrels a day, down 3.35 million barrels a day compared with its previous forecast in December. The latest projection is almost 7%, below the IEA's original 2008-13 forecast last July.

The lower growth forecast "assumes any rebound in the global economy will be slower and attain lower trend growth than the [International Monetary Fund] projection," the IEA said.

Though criticized at times for missing some big industry developments, the IEA is still seen as one of the more reliable energy statisticians in the industry, in part due to data from its member countries. These include most of the world's biggest energy consumers.