LONDON: Oil demand is still set for a record fall in 2020, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday, but it trimmed its forecast for the drop citing easing lockdown measures.
Demand is expected to fall by 8.6 million barrels per day (bpd), the IEA said in its monthly report, raising its estimate by 690,000 bpd compared to last month.
Around 2.8 billion people will be living under confinement measures aimed at containing the novel coronavirus at the end of May, down from 4 billion in April, the Paris-based IEA said.
In revising its forecast, the energy watchdog cited stronger-than-expected mobility in some European countries and the United States as well as higher Chinese demand as it recovers from the virus outbreak.
