LONDON/SHANGHAI -- Global demand for oil and iron ore is falling as the coronavirus epidemic has brought industrial activity to a standstill in China, the manufacturing hub of the world.
Global oil demand is expected to shrink by 435,000 barrels a day on the year in the three months to March, the first quarterly decrease in more than a decade, the International Energy Agency said in a report on Feb. 13. The IEA also slashed its 2020 growth outlook by 365,000 barrels a day from its January forecast to 825,000 barrels a day, the lowest since 2011.
