The International Energy Agency (IEA) maintained its forecast for oil demand growth in 2024 but revised its expectations for 2025, citing the impact of weakened Chinese consumption on economic growth.

The IEA stated that the end of the post-COVID-19 economic recovery in China has limited global oil demand, but advanced economies, particularly the United States—where a third of the world’s gasoline is consumed—have offset this decline. The agency added that the summer car travel season in the U.S. is expected to be the strongest since the pandemic, and supply cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies (OPEC+) are reducing the actual supply of oil for strategic reserves.

In its monthly oil report, the Paris-based agency said, “At present, supply is struggling to keep up with peak summer demand, leading to a market deficit.”

It is worth noting that OPEC’s July monthly report revealed that the organization kept its global economic growth forecast unchanged at 2.9% for both this year and next year. Regarding global oil demand growth, OPEC slightly reduced its forecast for this year by 135,000 barrels per day to 2.1 million barrels per day.