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Rapid demand growth will see China overtaking the United States as the world's top energy consumer soon after 2010, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday.

As oil flirts with $100, consumer governments are fretting over their economies and the IEA warned oil could soar to a nominal $159 in 2030 with higher than expected demand growth.

"We are experiencing high oil prices today and if actions are not taken in years to come, we can see a supply crunch which is not good news for anybody and it may end up with very high prices," IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol told Reuters.

For now, however, supply and demand have taken a backseat to the role of financial investors when it comes to setting prices, according to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, supplier of more than a third of the world's crude.

OPEC agreed to raise production by 500,000 bpd from November 1 and has shrugged off calls to pump more, blaming the rally on speculators and political tension in the Middle East.

Consumers, led by the IEA, disagree, saying producers should turn up the taps.

"At current prices, the market is signaling that stocks need to be higher, something in the power of producers to address," IEA Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka said.

A weekly U.S. inventory report due later on Wednesday is expected to show crude stocks in the world's biggest energy consumer had fallen 900,000 barrels last week due to disruptions to Mexican exports, a Reuters poll found.

(Additional reporting by Jonathan Leff in Singapore; Editing by Alex Lawler)