, Columnist
Why Brimming Oil Inventories Aren't Crashing Prices
Those stockpiles sitting around have to work harder than they used to
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Inventories of crude oil and refined products have soared, but seem to be having little impact on prices.
Measured in terms of the number of days of demand that could be met by the stored oil, OECD commercial inventories have risen from 57 days at the end of 2013 to 67 days at the end of March this year. They exceed by 5 days the volume of oil in storage at the depth of the financial crisis, after global oil demand had collapsed.