The International Energy Agency said Thursday that the global oil supply could grow faster than demand in the early part of 2018, but the market could balance out later in the year.

"On our current outlook, 2018 may not necessarily be a happy New Year for those who would like to see a tighter market. Total supply growth could exceed demand growth," the IEA wrote in its latest monthly oil market report.

"A lot could change in the next few months but it looks as if the producers' hopes for a happy New Year... may not be fulfilled," the report said.

Nevertheless, looking at the year as a whole, there could be "a closely balanced market," the IEA added.

At the end of November, 24 nations that account for around 60 percent of the world's oil supply agreed at a meeting in Vienna to keep a lid on output for all of 2018 in order to push up prices.