PARIS, Dec 14 — The Omicron coronavirus variant will slow the recovery in global demand for oil but the market will be “more comfortable” in 2022, the International Energy Agency said today.
The emergence of Omicron at the end of November “sparked a steep sell-off in oil, but initial pessimism has now given way to a more measured response,” it said. It said “new containment measures put in place to halt the spread of the virus are likely to have a more muted impact on the economy versus previous Covid waves, not least because of widespread vaccination campaigns.”
The agency said it is now pencilling in an increase in global oil demand of 5.4 million barrels per day in 2021 and by 3.3 million in 2022, when it will to return to pre-pandemic levels at 99.5 million bpd.