The Oil Market Report (OMR) for April marginally trimmed its 2014 forecast of global demand growth to 1.3 million barrels/day (mb/d), reflecting downward adjustments to the projection of Russian demand. But the absolute demand estimate remained roughly unchanged from March, at 92.7 mb/d, the monthly IEA report told subscribers, as upward revisions to baseline non‐OECD Asian demand counterbalanced the lower Russian growth.

Global supplies plunged 1.2 mb/d during March to 91.75 mb/d, led by steeply lower OPEC output in the month, but remained 1.1 mb/d higher than a year earlier, as non‐OPEC growth of 1.98 mb/d more than offset a nearly 1 mb/d drop in OPEC crude. Reduced supply expectations for formerly Soviet countries countries helped cut the non‐OPEC supply growth forecast by 250 000 barrels per day (250 kb/d), to 1.5 mb/d. The OMR raised its “call on OPEC crude and stock change” for the remainder of the year by 300 kb/d to average 30.2 mb/d, reflecting a reduced forecast of non‐OPEC supplies. OPEC supply in March, the OMR found, was 29.62 mb/d.

Global refinery crude demand is set to drop by 2 mb/d from February through April on planned maintenance in the Atlantic basin and the Pacific.