"Sustained high prices are starting to curb demand, but so far only at the margin. Only in the OECD, where end-user prices are more sensitive to crude price shifts and oil demand has plateaued, is oil product demand growth gradually slowing, as evidenced by weak US gasoline data or sluggish European heating oil figures."
The International Energy Agency Friday raised its estimates of world oil demand for 2008, despite signs that high prices are hitting consumption in developed countries. The IEA said high prices were squeezing demand in developed countries, cutting its estimate of OECD demand in 2007 by 50,000 b/d to 49.17 million b/d.

"I hope to have an agreement with China and India, in which the IEA and those two countries help each other in the times of emergency situations in the future."
The International Energy Agency intends to seek an agreement with China and India to get the two major oil consuming-countries to cooperate with IEA action in emergency situations, IEA executive director Nobuo Tanaka said Thursday. China and India took part in an IEA board meeting for the first time earlier this month to discuss issues including long-term policy and emergency preparedness.

Updated: Dec 14, 2007