Coronavirus outbreak will hit oil hard, but the consensus ends here

It is no surprise that the IEA, representing the major oil consuming nations, sees the biggest impact on demand

Everyone agrees that the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) that has shut down large parts of China’s industry and brought travel to a virtual halt in parts of the country will hit the world’s demand for oil hard. But the three big forecasting agencies are far apart on how severe that impact will be and what it means for 2020 oil balances.

The International Energy Agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration and OPEC — the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries — have all slashed their forecasts for global oil demand in the first two quarters of 2020 in their monthly reports published this