OPEC AND THE OIL MARKET

IEA Raises Estimate of 1Q Demand

In the latest (May) issue of its Oil Market Report (OMR), the International Energy Agency (IEA) has revised its estimate of world demand in the first quarter of 1985 upward to 47.7mn b/d as against the previous figure of 47.3mn b/d (MEES, 15 April). The increase is largely attributed to higher consumption in the OECD countries, which is now put at 36.1mn b/d, down 1% from 1Q 84, rather than the 35.7mn b/d in the April OMR. For the...