Dhaka, May 6 -- Global petrol demand growth could halve in 2024, squeezing second-half refinery margins, analysts said, driven by a shift to electric cars in China and the United States and a return to normal consumption after last year's bounce following COVID-19.

In the lowest growth since 2020, demand is likely to rise 340,000 barrels per day (bpd), to stand at 26.5 million bpd this year, says consultancy Wood Mackenzie, down from growth of 700,000 bpd last year, as China nears the point of peak transport fuel demand and the US has surpassed it, as per Reuters reports.

"Penetration of electric vehicles has been increasing in US and China," said Woodmac analyst Sushant Gupta.

"For this year Chinese demand will grow by only 10,000 bpd...