IEA sees oil market tighter as China demand rises

LONDON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - World oil markets are tightening as Chinese fuel demand increases and OPEC supplies fall, draining inventories, the West's main energy agency said on Friday, in a trend that could put extra pressure on prices.

The International Energy Agency (IEA), which advises industrialised nations on energy policy, raised sharply its forecast for global oil demand this year despite concerns over the health of the world economy.

"All of a sudden, the market looks tighter than we thought," the IEA said in its monthly report, adding that oil stocks in the developed economies of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development were falling after a long period of builds.

"OECD inventories are getting tighter - a clean break from the protracted and often counter?seasonal builds that had been a hallmark of 2012."

(Reporting by Christopher Johnson; editing by Dmitry Zhdannikov)

((christopher.johnson@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 6056; Reuters Messaging: christopher.johnson.reuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: OIL/IEA