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May 14 (UPI) -- The International Energy Agency said in an outlook Thursday it expects global oil demand to decline by 8.6 million barrels a day for 2020, a drop fueled by the coronavirus crisis. The IEA said in its monthly oil market report a "gradual-but-fragile recovery" has already started after oil prices reached record lows in April. However, it notes, global production is still expected to fall to a nine-year low of 88 million barrels per day for the month of May.
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Restrictions on air travel and stay-home orders have had a tremendous impact on demand for oil.
For the year, the agency said, the anticipated decline in demand -- to about 91 million barrels a day -- would be the largest in history. The expected demand is almost 1 million barrels per day higher than the IEA said in its last outlook.
The report said the modest recovery in oil prices so far is due to some easing coronavirus restrictions in travel sectors. The agency also cited steep production declines in non-OPEC countries as a factor.
"The outlook has improved somewhat and prices, while still far below where they were before the start of the COVID-19 crisis, have rebounded from their April lows," the IEA said in a statement.
OPEC+ nations agreed last month to cut production by 9.7 million barrels per day and Saudi Arabia has indicated it will curb production by an additional 1 million barrels in June.
Prices for Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate oil remain more than 50 percent below their levels in late 2019.
