Diesel demand heading east

As Europeans are falling out of love with diesel, market share elsewhere will keep rising

Over the next 25 years demand for what is now the region’s favourite road fuel will fall as sluggish oil consumption in the rich world, environmental concerns and a shift towards gasoline use in light-duty passenger vehicles all curb consumption. Last year, oil demand in OECD nations got a temporary boost, as lower prices encouraged stock building and crude consumption increased. But by the fourth quarter of 2015 the longer-term trend was back in play: demand for crude in these countries fell by around 375,000 b/d compared with the previous quarter. That was a marked drop. Over the previous five years, rich nations posted quarter-on-quarter demand growth of around 190,000 barrels a day, acco