Lower growth expected in 2013 crude oil demand

According to monthly report by the the International Energy Agency (IEA), the global demand growth for crude oil will weaken this year because of concern about economic growth and stability in the industrialised world.The report attributed the weakness also to a decline in activity in some emerging economies, said the (IEA) here on Wednesday in its latest monthly etitled “Oil Market Report (OMR)”.The IEA put a downward correction on its forecast for oil demand in 2013, indicating that demand growth this year should be around 0.9 % or 820,000 barrels per day (b/d), about 500,000 b/d lower than average expected demand increases in a normal year.Total oil demand is now forecast to be 90.6 million b/d and the IEA said that if there was no recession, demand should have increased by 1.4 million b/d.Economic woes and high unemployment in Europe along with US domestic deficit problems combined with a slowdown in Chinese business activity were all cited as factors for the predicted slowdown in demand.Meanwhile, oil supply in February was higher at 90.8 million b/d, up 90,000 b/d from a month earlier.OPEC output rose by 150,000 b/d to 30.49 million b/d, led mainly by a hike in Iraqi production. Non-OPEC output slid by 60,000 b/d to 54.1 million b/d but it is still 600,000 b/d higher than year-earlier levels