Missing Oil Barrels Raise Doubts Over IEA’s Bearish 2025 Outlook

Oil traders broadly share the International Energy Agency’s view that stockpiles will grow next year — but there is reason to think the expansion could be smaller than forecast.

In the last quarter, preliminary data showed that global oil inventories declined by about 1.16 million barrels a day, the agency said. That’s an issue because it’s significantly bigger than the 380,000 barrels a day reduction projected by the IEA in its balances. The gap between the two is the equivalent of Poland’s daily oil demand, and would add up to about 70 million barrels over the three-month period.