Flat oil demand scrutinized

China’s announcement last week that apparent oil demand fell 0.3% in 2004, to about 6.4 million barrels a day, has surprised energy markets and brought China’s data under scrutiny, the Wall Street Journal reported. With 2005 economic growth around 10%, some analysts have expressed skepticism over the latest figures. "I don’t know where they’re coming up with these figures. We have to look at them more deeply," said the International Energy Agency’s oil-demand analyst, Jeff Brown. China’s demand grew 15% in 2004, straining global capacity and driving up prices. The IEA says that China’s oil-demand growth should rebound to about 6% this year.