Crude oil prices slumped Tuesday as the International Energy Agency (IEA) cut its projection for oil demand growth, noting China’s slowing economy was behind the decision.
The IEA said oil demand will grow “just shy of” 900,000 barrels per day (B/D) in 2024. In September, the IEA had projected average annual gains of 900,000 B/D for 2024.
“China underpins the deceleration in growth, accounting for around 20% of global gains both this year and next year, compared to almost 70% in 2023,” the IEA said Tuesday.
The move came a day after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) lowered its oil demand outlook for 2024 and 2025.
The forecasts were well below the post-pandemic growth levels in 2022 to 2023, when they were around 2 million B/D.
The price of Brent crude was down about 4% at $74.35 a barrel Tuesday, while West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 4.4% to around $70.59 a barrel.
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