Oil Demand Signals Are Flashing Red as Price Dives Toward $50 - Bloomberg

Oil Demand Signals Are Flashing Red as Price Dives Toward $50 - Bloomberg:

Oil demand is shriveling as the trade war between the U.S. and China trips up the global economy.

Estimates for March and April are pointing to year-on-year declines in regions that account for almost half of global oil demand, according to Morgan Stanley. Indicators including the profit from making plastics have been sinking while refining margins in Europe recently hit multiyear lows.

Even support from one of the tightest physical markets in years is starting to weaken -- premiums refineries pay to procure immediate supplies are slumping. That’s despite output being hit by a combination of OPEC+ production cuts, U.S. sanctions on major producers Iran and Venezuela, and an unprecedented halt to Russia’s giant Druzhba crude pipeline. Analysts are now taking increasingly bearish views on consumption for this year.