The story behind the numbers.

Plain-English examples using 2025 demand figures published by the IEA in April 2026.

Archive: these briefs use the IEA’s April 2026 Global Energy Review. Its 2025 coal-growth estimate of 0.4% was later revised to 0.3% in the IEA Coal Mid-Year Update in September. Use Market watch for the newer outlook.

Illustrative image; it does not show a specific market event

Coal · Archived background brief

Coal use is still rising, but more slowly.

The IEA’s April 2026 estimate put 2025 coal-demand growth at 0.4%, down from 1.4% in 2024. The IEA later revised the 2025 figure to 0.3%.

What happened

Demand increased, but at a slower pace than the year before.

Why it matters

The global number is a useful starting point. It cannot tell us what happened in every country or what a particular coal cargo cost.

What to watch

Differences between major consuming countries, power generation and trade flows.

How fast did worldwide coal use grow?

2024

1.4%

2025

0.4%

Source: IEA Global Energy Review 2026, Coal. Bars show annual growth in demand, not prices.

Countries can move in different directions even when the worldwide total increases. The IEA reports higher coal use in the United States in 2025, while coal-fired power generation fell in China and India. This is why our market watch follows regional changes as well as the global headline.

Gas & LNG · Market brief

Gas use increased worldwide.

The world used about 1% more natural gas in 2025, an increase of roughly 40 billion cubic metres, according to the IEA.

What happened

Global gas demand grew over the year.

Why it matters

Demand helps describe the size of the market, but it is only one piece of an LNG price story.

What to watch

Regional demand, storage levels, weather and the availability of LNG shipments.

This is an annual measure of natural gas used around the world. LNG is natural gas cooled into liquid form for transport by ship. A local LNG price or shipping cost can change for reasons that the annual global figure does not capture.

Source: IEA Global Energy Review 2026.

Oil · Market brief

Oil use grew at a modest pace.

Global oil demand rose by about 0.7% in 2025, or roughly 650,000 barrels a day, according to the IEA.

What happened

The world used more oil than in 2024, but growth was modest.

Why it matters

Demand is part of the market picture. It does not, on its own, explain the price of crude oil or refined products.

What to watch

Consumption by region, refinery activity and the movement of oil products.

The 0.7% figure compares average demand across two full years. A daily market price measures something different. Our updates keep those timeframes separate so the headline stays useful.

Source: IEA Global Energy Review 2026.

Quick definitions

Plain terms

Demand — how much of a fuel people and businesses use. Growth rate — how that use changed from one year to the next. LNG — natural gas cooled into liquid form so ships can carry it.

These figures describe the whole world over 2025. Local markets may move differently. Each brief links to its IEA source.

Sources & method