%{{tag.tag}} {{articledata.title}} {{moment(articledata.cdate)}} @{{articledata.company.replace(" ","")}} comment A new outlook from the International Energy Agency (IEA) says that the world faces an oil glut to start the year. The IEA report states that the crude oil market will be in "deep surplus" during the first quarter of 2026 as excess supplies outweigh the risks of disruptions caused by geopolitical events. The agency is forecasting that global oil supplies will exceed demand by 4.25 million barrels per day in the current first quarter. A surplus of that size would be about 4% of world demand and is larger than previous predictions for this year, said the IEA. "Barring any significant disruptions to supplies in Iran, Venezuela, or further cuts from other producers, a significant surplus is likely to re-emerge in the first quarter of 2026," reads the report. Oil prices have risen about 6% so far this year as concerns about geopolitics and possible oil market disruptions drive buying. However, that price increase is likely to moderate as crude oil surpluses persist, says the IEA. For all of 2026, the market faces an implied surplus of 3.69 million barrels per day, according to the agency's latest outlook. The IEA revised its global growth forecast for this year higher to 2.5 million barrels per day from 2.4 million in December. The report concludes that it is too early to assess the implications of the latest geopolitical developments on the crude oil market.