Crude prices under pressure from economic strain

The lack of economic growth will limit oil demand growth, says IEA

Oil futures traded in a narrow range in May and fell in early June because of an “anaemic economic outlook”, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. On 1 July, Brent crude was trading just under $103/b, while WTI was around $97/b. The IEA said it expects global oil demand to grow by “a somewhat muted” 785,000 b/d this year, reaching 90.6 million b/d. This is 75,000 b/d lower than the agency’s previous forecast, mainly because of lower Russian consumption, the IEA said. Lacklustre economic growth will continue to limit oil demand growth, with declines still expected in many OECD countries, according to the IEA.  In early June, the International Monetary Fund cut its economic growth foreca