IEA Turns Bullish On Oil, Raises Demand Growth Forecast

Global oil demand defied gloomy expectations from a month ago to withstand the Omicron wave with much less disruption than expected, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday, raising its demand growth estimates by 200,000 bpd for both 2021 and 2022. Demand increased by 1.1 million bpd to 99 million bpd in the fourth quarter of 2021, defying expectations of a serious hit to consumption due to the Omicron wave, the IEA said in its Oil Market Report (OMR) for January today. A month ago, the IEA said that the surge in COVID cases was…