Global oil demand has been hit hard by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) and the widespread shutdown of China's economy.
Demand is now expected to fall by 435 kb/d y-o-y in 1Q20, the first quarterly contraction in more than 10 years.
We have cut our 2020 growth forecast by 365 kb/d to 825 kb/d, the lowest since 2011.
Lower-than-expected consumption in the OECD trimmed 2019 growth to 885 kb/d.
The coronavirus outbreak has also led us to revise down the outlook for global refinery runs.
Chinese crude throughputs for 1Q20 have been cut by 1.1 mb/d and are now expected to contract by 0.5 mb/d year-on-year. As a result, global runs are forecast to expand by just 0.7 mb/d in 2020.
Global oil supply slumped by 0.8 mb/d in January to 100.5 mb/d.
A blockade in Libya slashed production and the UAE saw output fall by 0.3 mb/d.
World oil output was largely unchanged on a year ago as lower supply from OPEC was offset by a 2.1 mb/d increase in non-OPEC production.
The call on OPEC crude plunges to 27.2 mb/d in 1Q20, which is 1.7 mb/d below the group's January production of 28.86 mb/d.
OECD industry stocks held largely steady in December at 2 915 mb as a build in product inventories more than offset lower crude holdings. Total oil stocks stood 26.4 mb above the five-year average and covered 61 days of forward demand.
Preliminary data for January show inventories building in the US and Japan while falling in Europe.
| Raw materials | Closed | Change, % |
|---|---|---|
| Brent | 56.14 | 3.71 |
| WTI | 51.58 | 3.41 |
| Silver | 17.45 | -0.96 |
| Gold | 1565.572 | -0.13 |
| Palladium | 2391.5 | 2.24 |