Expatica news

Energy agency paints crude picture for oil

1 July 2008

MADRID – Don’t expect the cost of filling up your car to fall much any time soon.

With oil prices at record highs of over USD 140 a barrel, the head of the International Energy agency, Nobuo Tanaka, Tuesday told the World Petroleum Congress in Madrid that demand for oil was likely to continue to outstrip supply for about another five years.

In part this is due to the emergence of new economic powerhouses such as China and India.

The IEA predicts that 90 percent of the growth in demand for oil over the next five years would come from emerging regions.

Tanaka recognised the threat posed to the social welfare of millions of people by soaring oil prices. But he argued the surge was due to market bottlenecks rather than rampant speculation.

[El Pais / Expatica]