Global Oil Shortfall Looms Despite Output Gain and Soft Demand, U.S. Says

Crude consumption is set to outstrip supplies worldwide by 230,000 barrels a day in the fourth quarter, the US Energy Information Administration said Tuesday in a monthly report. The US is projecting a much smaller shortfall than OPEC predicted in an earlier report, which showed a deficit of 3 million barrels a day — potentially the biggest in more than a decade.

The constraints come as Saudi Arabia extends production cuts, sending prices surging beyond $90 a barrel in London. Though global output is projected to rise, most of the gains are projected to come from non-OPEC countries. Meanwhile, the EIA lowered its forecast for US gasoline demand after the Census Bureau revised its population estimate to include fewer people of working age.

The International Energy Agency’s global oil outlook is due Wednesday.