The International Energy Agency cut its estimate for world demand growth this year because it no longer believed economic activity might pick up in the second half.

"For the fourth time since last October, we have slashed the economic assumptions that underpin our oil demand forecasts," the IEA said, noting also an unexpectedly sharp fall of demand in China.

Chinese demand fell 6.9 percent in January-February on a 12-month basis, revealing "fresh evidence" of an economic slowdown.

The IEA said it now expected the global economy to contract 1.4 percent this year instead of expanding modestly as it had previously expected.

"This forecast implicitly discards a recovery in both global economic growth and oil demand from the second half of 2009 as we had earlier assumed."

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Washington DC (UPI) Apr 29, 2009
Iran is not excluded entirely from emerging as a possible natural gas supplier to the Western-backed Nabucco pipeline, U.S. representatives said. Turkey has a key role to play as an important energy hub in the European drive to diversify regional natural resource transit options, Czech officials said. The Calgary-based TransCanada Corp. began its permit process for an Alaska gas pipeline by submitting plans to a U.S. energy commission for review.