Global oil demand will collapse next year and commodities will not return to the highs reached this summer in the foreseeable future, according to two authoritative reports which forecast a long global recession, reports the FT. The stark conclusions came as the World Bank’s chief economist predicted that the world faced “the worst recession since the Great Depression”. The US energy department said global oil demand will fall this year and next, marking the first two consecutive years’ decline in 30 years. Meanwhile, the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects report said the commodities boom of the past five years – which drove up prices 130% – had “come to an end”, contradicting the prevalent view among resources companies and analysts that the ongoing price drop is a correction within an upward trend. However, the Bank predicted that oil would recover slightly to about $75 a barrel within the next three years, while food would trade 60% higher than in 2003, but about half below this year’s record. Meanwhile Bloomberg reports Wednesday that crude oil rose as traders closed out bets that prices will fall amid signs that OPEC will cut production twice in as many months.
This entry was posted by Gwen Robinson on Wednesday, December 10th, 2008 at 5:28 and is filed under Capital markets, Commodities.
