OPEC expects global oil demand to fall by 6.8M bpd in 2020

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) revealed on Thursday that its global oil demand growth forecast for 2020 has been revised down by 6.9 million barrels per day (bpd), "to a historical drop of around 6.8 million bpd."

Second-quarter demand is estimated to fall by 12 million bpd, with April's expected decline amounting to 20 million bpd, according to OPEC's Monthly Oil Market Report for April 2020. The report said that the coronavirus pandemic had the biggest impact, as restrictive measures caused by it have damaged "transportation fuels [demand] in particular."

Non-OPEC supply growth in 2020 is estimated to decline to 1.5 million bpd, after being revised down by 3.26 million bpd. The United States 2020 supply growth forecast "was revised down by 1.05 million bpd to show a decline of 0.15 million bpd year-over-year," OPEC pointed out.he International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday it expects global oil demand to drop by 9.3 million barrels per day compared to the previous year due to the travel restrictions caused by the outbreak of the coronavirus."Even assuming that travel restrictions are eased in the second half of the year, we expect that global oil demand in 2020 will fall by 9.3 million barrels a day versus 2019, erasing almost a decade of growth," the IEA noted in its monthly report.