IEA raises 2020 oil demand forecast

The International Energy Agency (IEA), in its closely observed monthly oil market report released this Friday, raised its 2020 oil demand forecast but warned that the spread of COVID-19 posed a risk to the outlook.

Key highlights:

• Demand decline in Q2 2020 was less severe than expected.
• Oil demand for 2020 seen as 92.1 million barrels per day (bpd), up 400,000 bpd from last month.
• Global oil supply fell by 2.4 million bpd in June to a 9-year low of 86.9 million bpd.
• Crude oil floating storage fell by 34.9 million barrels to 176.4 million barrels from the all-time high seen in May.

The latest update did little to provide any meaningful lift to oil prices. In fact, WTI crude oil was last seen struggling near the $39.00/barrel, down nearly 2% for the day.