The IEA’s oil ‘demand destruction’ report comes after its chief said unnamed countries are hoarding stocks.By AFP and ReutersPublished On 14 Apr 202614 Apr 2026The International Energy Agency (IEA) has sharply cut its forecasts for global oil supply and demand growth, saying both are expected to fall from last year’s levels as the United States-Israel war on Iran disrupts oil flows and weighs on the global economy.According to its report published on Tuesday, the IEA sees global oil demand falling by 80,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year, compared with a projected year-on-year rise of 640,000 bpd in its previous monthly report.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listThe forecast was released after the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and IEA urged countries on Monday to avoid hoarding energy supplies and imposing export controls that could worsen the shock.IEA chief Fatih Birol on Monday told reporters that several countries were holding onto stocks and imposing export restrictions, and appealed to all countries to let energy stocks flow to the markets. He did not name the countries.“Demand destruction will spread as scarcity and higher prices persist,” the IEA report said on Tuesday, adding that the deepest cuts in oil consumption have come from the Middle East and Asia Pacific so far, for naphtha, LPG and jet fuel in particular.The Paris-based watchdog said a projected 1.5 million bpd drop in demand in the second quarter of this year would mark the deepest contraction since the COVID-19 pandemic.On Monday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) lowered its prediction for world oil demand in the second quarter, but kept its full-year outlook unchanged. Advertisement Hormuz disruptionsAttacks on energy inf …
