Energy demand in the United States and China has been relentless. The appetite for more oil in the two fastest growing economies in the world goes on unabated. Instead of a slowdown in energy use this year, demand will be up again. Worldwide demand will grow by 2.2 percent. The relief that everyone was expecting isn’t there. The IEA just raised its forecast for demand to 84.3 million barrels per day. Oil demand in China is slowing down, but it is still growing. The IEA estimates that Chinese oil demand will grow by 100,000 barrels to 500,000 a day. China’s economy is expected to grow by 7.9 percent this year. That is down from the 9.4 percent growth rate in the fourth quarter of last year. An 8 percent growth rate is still substantial and it requires more energy to sustain it.
For full article, a financial analysis of Peak Oil, see:
www.financialsense.com/Market/puplava/2005/0314.html
