The International Energy Agency (IEA) says it predicts that demand for oil could reach record levels this year, given mainland China’s reopening of its economy.
Demand for crude fell in the second half of 2022, as China’s ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) maintained its “zero-COVID” policy stance.
The combination of mild weather and weaker industrial output, caused by natural gas shortages in the wake of widely-adopted energy sanctions placed on Russia, saw lower oil demand in Europe.
China’s draconian lockdown policies and powerful winter blizzards in the United States and Canada were other factors that softened the consumption of crude worldwide….