Part 3/10:
This surplus is unprecedented, constituting the largest annual oversupply on record. To put it into perspective, it nearly doubles the surplus seen during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which was driven by lockdown-induced demand collapses. Importantly, Johnston emphasizes that the IEA's forecast isn't necessarily an expectation of what will occur but rather a useful benchmark indicating how much global supply must contract to restore market balance.