China consumption estimate reduced by 925,000 b/d in April Global market now seen in balance for much of the year The International Energy Agency cut its forecast for global oil demand this year after China reimposed lockdowns to contain the spread of a resurgent coronavirus. With the weaker demand outlook and the massive release of emergency oil reserves by IEA members, the agency now sees global markets in balance for much of the year. Crude prices have already lost most of their gains since Russia’s attack on Ukraine, to trade near $100 a barrel in New York on Wednesday. “Prices are now back to near pre-invasion levels, but remain troublingly high and are a serious threat for the global economic outlook,” the IEA said in its monthly report. While the market looks balanced now, “the outlook is mired in uncertainty.” The Paris-based agency, which advises most major economies, lowered […]