LONDON (Dow Jones)--Oil's surge to $100 a barrel is unlikely to soften global oil demand any time soon or significantly change consumption patterns among key consumers, an official at the International Energy Agency said Thursday. Oil demand is concentrated in three main regions, the U.S., China and the Middle East, and none of those areas is likely to see demand drop off significantly in response to record oil prices, said Eduardo Lopez, oil demand analyst at the Paris-based energy watchdog for major, industrialized nations.
"Gasoline demand in the U.S. is somewhat inelastic," Lopez told Dow Jones Newsires by telephone.
"If high prices last for a long time, there may be an impact. But it's unclear in the eyes of the (U.S.) consumer if (these prices) are going to last," Lopez said, noting how oil prices enjoyed a brief run up in 2006 before coming back down.
Other major industrialized countries in Europe and elsewhere have long been accustomed to high fuel prices because of heavy taxation and are better positioned to absorb the surge in prices, he added.
Lopez said, meanwhile, two-thirds of global oil demand growth is coming from developing economies, principally China and the Middle East, where government subsidies shield consumers and industry from the impact of surging oil prices that would otherwise restrain consumption.
"As long as key growth areas continue to be shielded by subsidies, it's quite unlikely we'll see a drop in demand," Lopez said.
Crude prices have risen to new records heading into the new year, with February Nymex crude briefly hitting $100 a barrel Wednesday. On Thursday, ICE Brent crude futures traded to a new record high of $98.26 a barrel as the market predicted bullish weekly U.S. Department of Energy inventory data later in the day.