OIL DEMAND LIKELY TO RISE 0.6% A YEAR

World oil demand it likely to grow by an average of 0.6 per cent annually over the 2008-2014 period, the international Energy Agency (IEA) forecast on Monday, revising its midterm expectations downward amid the global recession. The Paris-based IEA, which advises oil-consuming countries, said oil demand would reach 89 million barrels a day by 2014 under the IMF's current forecast of a return to five per cent annual economic growth by 2012.