Vaccines set to unleash pent-up oil demand -IEA

After three months of decline in global oil demand, COVID-19 vaccine roll-outs are set to unleash thirst for oil stymied by pandemic restrictions especially in Asia, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday.

“Already signs are emerging of COVID cases abating with demand now expected to rebound by a sharp 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in October, and continuing to grow until end-year,” the Paris-based IEA wrote in its monthly oil report.

The IEA forecast a robust rebound in the market from the fourth quarter of the year citing “strong pent-up demand and continued progress in vaccination programmes”.

Still, the spread of the Delta variant of the virus in recent months caused the agency to trim its forecast for demand growth for the year overall by 105,000 bpd, while it raised its estimate for 2022 by 85,000 bpd.

Damage from Hurricane Ida in the U.S. Gulf coast oil hub caused the first decline in global supply in five months, the IEA said, estimating that the potential supply losses from the storm approach 30 million barrels.