For the first time in months the cushion in oil supply is showing signs of widen

For the first time in months the cushion in oil supply is showing signs of widening as inventories in consuming countries increase and Asia’s record growth slows.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the cartel that supplies almost 40 per cent of the world’s oil, now expects its spare capacity to average about 8 per cent of global demand in the second half of this year, compared with 5 per cent a year ago.