- The IEA forecasts that the world's oil supply will have difficulty keeping up with demand in 2023
- The agency projected in its most recent monthly report that a recovering Chinese economy will increase oil demand while harsher sanctions against Russia will curtail oil production
- Global oil demand is anticipated to grow by 2.2 MMBbl/d to a record high of 101.6 MMBbl/d in 2023, while non-OPEC+ supply is forecasted to increase by 1.9 MMBbl/d according to the IEA
- China increased its oil refinery output in May as processors gradually increased their operating rates in anticipation of the easing of virus-related lockdowns
- Refiners processed 12.75 MMBbl/d of crude oil in May, up 0.7% from April but down 11% year over year when the Chinese economy was better prior to the most recent Covid-19 outbreak
- China’s apparent oil demand (oil processing volume and net import of refined petroleum oil) in May was 8.3% lower than a year earlier
- Chinese oil demand is anticipated to increase at a relatively moderate pace as present lockdowns are eased, according to analysts