Oil analysts say a rebound in the world's hunger for oil has already started after demand destruction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic fell far short of what many experts had expected. In a presentation at the virtual TD Securities energy conference, Sen says pandemic lockdowns of countries and industries resulted in forecasts for a 30 to 40 per cent decline from pre-pandemic global oil demand of about 100 million barrels per day. She says her organization expected the decline to reach 28 million bpd but the maximum drop was 18 million bpd in April. "There is some light at the end of the tunnel ... as countries emerging from COVID-19 lockdowns improved crude oil demand over the past few weeks," said the Deloitte report. The report also says consumer behavioural shifts — in areas such as commuter traffic and business travel along with weakening global trade — may change the shape of the demand curve for global crude oil.

Source: CBC News July 06, 2020 19:28 UTC