Due to the coronavirus outbreak, key international airlines including British Airways and Lufthansa have suspended all direct flights to and from mainland China. This further dents spot jet fuel demand.
Previously, a series of carriers including United Airlines, Austrian Airlines, American Airlines, and Swiss International Air Lines reduced or cancelled flights to China.
Analysts significantly cut their oil demand growth forecasts for 2020 due to coronavirus. In the past 10 days, oil prices have fallen sharply. Although ICE Brent futures had recovered to around $60 per barrel in late afternoon trading in London Wednesday, they plunged more than 8 percent to around $59 per barrel.
Against total oil demand of 100.83 million b/d, global jet fuel demand averaged 8.01 million b/d in the first 3 quarters of 2019. Besides China, demand growth for aviation fuel has recently been heavily concentrated in South Asia and Southeast Asia. Up 5.7 percent on the year, Chinese jet/kerosene 2019 demand estimated by the IEA at 858,000 b/d.
