The volume of crude stored on ships in Asia has come off the peaks seen earlier this month on a recovery in demand in China and India, trade sources and analysts said.
A total of 3.4 million tonnes (24.8 million barrels) of crude oil was discharged from floating storage into Asian markets in the past seven days, with China the top destination at 1.8 million tonnes and India second at 842,679 tonnes, according to oil analytics firm Vortexa.
Robust demand from China, the world’s top oil importer, and OPEC+ production cuts supported crude prices this month while the Brent’s contango price spread that previously encouraged traders to store oil for future sales to reap higher prices has also narrowed.
