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PARIS (AFP) - - The world is awash with oil despite a price rally but the glut is hampering investment in fields which will be needed when demand pulls out of a "relentless" plunge the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday.
The IEA cut its estimate for world demand growth this year because it no longer believed economic activity might pick up in the second half.
"For the fourth time since last October, we have slashed the economic assumptions that underpin our oil demand forecasts," the IEA said, noting also an unexpectedly sharp fall of demand in China.
Chinese demand fell 6.9 percent in January-February on a 12-month basis, revealing "fresh evidence" of an economic slowdown.
The IEA said it now expected the global economy to contract 1.4 percent this year instead of expanding modestly as it had previously expected.
"This forecast implicitly discards a recovery in both global economic growth and oil demand from the second half of 2009 as we had earlier assumed."
The IEA cut its estimate for world demand growth this year because it no longer believed economic activity might pick up in the second half.
"For the fourth time since last October, we have slashed the economic assumptions that underpin our oil demand forecasts," the IEA said, noting also an unexpectedly sharp fall of demand in China.
Chinese demand fell 6.9 percent in January-February on a 12-month basis, revealing "fresh evidence" of an economic slowdown.
The IEA said it now expected the global economy to contract 1.4 percent this year instead of expanding modestly as it had previously expected.
"This forecast implicitly discards a recovery in both global economic growth and oil demand from the second half of 2009 as we had earlier assumed."
