The International Energy Agency said global demand for natural gas on course for its largest annual decline in history due to an exceptionally mild winter in the northern hemisphere combined with the Covid-19 crisis. A decline by 4 percent expected from global gas demand. This is twice the size of the decline after the global financial crisis in 2008.
The IEA’s latest annual market report showed all major gas markets worldwide as of early June are experiencing slumps in growth or falls in demand. Accounting for 75 percent of the 2020’s total decline in gas demand, more mature markets across Asia, North America and Europe are expected to see the biggest drops for the full year.
Major natural gas indices pushed to record lows by global oversupply. A rapid return to the pre-crisis trajectory is not assumed by the agency’s report even though a rebound is expected next year. Most of the improvement in demand after next year takes place in Asia, led by China and India. The industrial sector in both countries is the main source of demand growth.
