Global oil demand is set to contract in 2020 for the first time in more than a decade as global economic activity stalls due to the coronavirus, the International Energy Agency said, Reuters reported.
The sharp downward revision in demand expectations came as oil prices dropped by more than a quarter and were set for their biggest one-day fall in 29 years after Saudi Arabia ignited a crude price war in the market.
The energy watchdog said it expected oil demand to be 99.9 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2020, lowering its annual forecast by almost 1 million bpd and signalling a contraction of 90,000 bpd, the first time demand will have fallen since 2009.
