World Oil - Oil demand won’t recover for at least 18 months, say top traders

(Bloomberg) --Global oil demand won’t meaningfully recover for at least 18 months, said the heads of the world’s biggest independent trading houses.

Speaking at the FT Commodities Global Summit on Tuesday, some of the most influential people in the oil market offered a dim outlook.

“It is very hard to be bullish on the oil price now and into Christmas,” said Ben Luckock, co-head of oil trading at Trafigura Group.

Mercuria Energy Group Chief Executive Marco Dunand said oil consumption could rebound from the coronavirus in about 18 months, while Torbjorn Tornqvist, his counterpart at Gunvor Group Ltd., and hedge fund manager Pierre Andurand both saw the timeframe closer to two years.

Daily consumption is still 4 million to 5 million barrels day below where it was expected to be before the pandemic, said Russell Hardy, the chief executive of Vitol Group, the biggest independent oil trader. He doesn’t expect a meaningful pickup in demand until at least the summer of 2021.

https://www.worldoil.com/news/2020/9/30/oil-demand-won-t-recover-for-at-least-18-months-say-top-traders?id=31307113