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Oil demand set for first contraction since 2009 due to coronavirus - IEA

(Reuters, 9 Mar 2020) Global oil demand fell by about 2.5% in the first quarter of 2020, as coronavirus cut travel and economic activity, especially in China

Global oil demand is set to contract in 2020 for the first time in more than a decade as global economic activity stalls due to the coronavirus, the International Energy Agency said on Monday.

The downward revision came as oil prices dropped as much as third in their biggest one-day fall since the 1991 Gulf War after Saudi Arabia launched a bid for market share following the collapse of an output pact with Russia.

The energy watchdog said it expected oil demand to be 99.9 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2020, lowering its annual forecast by almost 1 million bpd and signalling a contraction of 90,000 bpd, the first time demand will have fallen since 2009.

Global oil demand fell 2.5 million bpd on the year in the first quarter, or around 2.5%, the IEA estimated in its report, as coronavirus cut travel and economic activity. Around 1.8 million bpd of that was in China.

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Reuters, 9 Mar 2020: Oil demand set for first contraction since 2009 due to coronavirus - IEA