Global oil demand up 1.2% in 2006: IEA

Global demand for crude oil is probably to go up by 1.2 percent this year to 84.6 million barrels per day, and by 1.7 percent in 2007 to 86 million barrels per day, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday.

This is a slight downward revision of the IEA'S previous forecast of 1.3 percent growth in 2006 and 1.8 percent in 2007.

The IEA explained that the decrease is in part owing to the International Monetary Fund's anticipation that the U.S. economy would slow down next year.

Besides, high crude prices, benign weather and low natural gas prices also contribute to the revision, the IEA said.

Source: Xinhua