Oil: Global inventories fall by 507 million barrels since February

Observed global oil inventories recorded another sharp decline in August, according to the latest Oil Market Report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). Stocks fell by 95 million barrels over the month, bringing the cumulative decline since February to 507 million barrels.

This contraction represents an average decline of 2.8 million barrels per day since February. Trends have differed, however, between OECD countries and other economies, while volumes of oil held at sea have also fallen sharply.

According to the IEA, observed global oil inventories declined by a further 95 million barrels in August.

This brought the cumulative decrease since February to 507 million barrels, equivalent to an average reduction of 2.8 million barrels per day over the period.

These figures refer to global oil inventories observed by the agency and should not be confused with countries’ geological or proven oil reserves.

A significant share of the decline recorded in August came from oil held at sea, which fell by 65 million barrels.

According to the IEA, this development occurred as tanker traffic departing from the Middle East was once again affected by attacks.

Non-OECD inventories declined by 52 million barrels, with the drop driven mainly by China.

By contrast, inventories in OECD countries increased by 23 million barrels. Within the OECD, the rise in commercial stocks more than offset a 19-million-barrel decline in government-held inventories.

The IEA data therefore point to a sharp contraction in observed global oil inventories since February, although trends have varied significantly across regions and storage categories.

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