Travel wonât recover until Q3, says oilâs largest trader By Verity Ratcliffe and Anthony Di Paola on 1/13/2021
(Bloomberg) A return to pre-pandemic levels of oil demand will hinge on jet-fuel use, which is unlikely to recover until the third quarter of the year, said Mike Muller, head of trader Vitol SAâs operations in Asia.
Jet fuel has been the oil product hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic in Asia. Demand in the region for fuels such as diesel and gasoline was also affected but has rebounded. Vitol is the worldâs biggest independent oil trader.
Global oil use dropped by 9 million barrels a day last year but should recoup more than 6 million in 2021, Muller said Wednesday at the Gulf Intelligence online conference. âThe world has never seen such a transition; managing that will be very challenging,â he said. âThe biggest single demand that needs to return is aviation fuel.â