In its latest Oil Market Report, the IEA increased its estimate for European oil demand in the first three months of this year by 185,000 b/d, compared to the previous report, to 13.5 million b/d.

This is around 500,000 b/d higher than the same period a year earlier, a rise of almost 4%.

“The overall pace of European oil demand growth is not only at its strongest in nearly twenty years but it even exceeds the post-Great Recessionary bounce of mid-2010,” the IEA said in its latest Oil Market report.

“Additional economic growth alone is unlikely to account for all of this rise, even with the supportive influence of lower retail prices seen since mid-2014.”

Turkish, Italian, German, French, British and Polish oil demand estimates have been increased, mainly because of higher than expected gasoil demand for heating.

Turkey’s demand in February was revised up by 105,000 b/d, and the U.K.’s and Germany’s both up 65,000 b/d.

A weaker euro versus the U.S. dollar had boosted industrial demand, while colder winter weather had increased heating oil demand by 7% from a year earlier.

The IEA’s latest demand estimates for March indicate oil product demand within Europe’s five biggest consumers — Germany, the U.K., France, Italy and Spain reached 13.36 million b/d in March — a rise of 1.3% from a year earlier.

Jet fuel and kerosene demand increased the fastest, at 5.3% from a year earlier, to 1.2 million b/d. The region’s diesel demand also increased almost 4%, year on year, to 4.49 million b/d.

Meanwhile OECD Europe’s gasoil demand fell 1% in March, to 1.52 million b/d, and gasoline demand slipped to 1.82 million b/d — a drop of 0.5% from a year earlier.