The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries says global demand for crude oil appears to be weakening in many parts of the world, including Europe, China and the United States
OPEC says total world demand for crude will grow by an estimated 1.02 per cent in 2019 over last year and 1.08 per cent in 2020 compared with this year, down from earlier estimates of 1.11 per cent and 1.14 per cent.
It says demand will fall in some regions represented by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, particularly in Europe and the Asian-Pacific region, in both 2019 and 2020.
Demand for crude in the United States, a major customer for Canadian oil, is still expected to grow but by 1.0 per cent in 2019, down from the prior estimate of 1.05 per cent. Projected 2020 U.S. demand growth is 0.70 per cent.
In China, a non-OECD country, demand for oil is expect to grow this year by 2.73 per cent over 2018 and by 2.37 per cent next year, down from earlier estimates of 2.77 per cent in 2019 and 2.45 per cent in 2020.
OPEC’s report provides less detail about oil demand in Canada, but says it’s expected to be up slightly in 2020 compared with this year, which with five months of stagnant growth followed by solid growth in June.
