Energy watchdog says oil usage to rise to record levels in 2023 as China lifts COVID restrictions

A major energy watchdog group says global oil usage will spike to record levels this year as China bounces back from COVID restrictions and resumes normal economic activity. 

The International Energy Agency's January 2023 report says that oil usage across the planet "is set to rise by 1.9 [million barrels per day] in 2023, to a record 101.7 mb/d."

"Nearly half that gain," the group said, will come "from China following the lifting of its Covid restrictions."  Jet fuel "remains the largest source of growth," the report claimed.

The global oil supply growth "is set to slow to 1 mb/d," the group added, following an impressive year in which OPEC+ led growth of 4.7 mb/d."