As Covid-19 infections continue to increase around the world and the implications of the pandemic’s spread are acknowledged in key markets in the Americas and Asia, Rystad Energy is now changing its base case scenario for oil demand, incorporating a mild second wave effect. The updated base case scenario assumes a temporary pause in global demand recovery, as the reopening of Europe and other regions is offset by Covid-19 outbursts in populous and high oil-consuming countries in the Americas and Asia such as the United States, Brazil and India, among others. There is downside risk to our base case. We have identified a category of oil demand at risk – that is, the maximum number of barrels that could be lost if a full lockdown is reinstated globally. In this worst-case scenario in which strict lockdown measures return, we expect demand to edge around 3.7 million bpd lower for […]