Traders hoarding most oil since 2009, latest sign of faltering demand

Bloomberg carrying an article on Thursday, suggested that demand for oil seems to have slowed further as oil traders increased the fleet of ships deployed in the North Sea to store crude, the biggest build-up of stockpiles at sea since 2009.

Nine tankers holding about 9 million barrels of the major North Sea crude grades are floating off the UK’s coast, up from 7 million in May, according to a survey of oil traders and ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. 

Most of the cargoes floating idle in the North Sea have yet to find buyers and will probably remain where they are for some time because of subdued demand in Europe, according to three traders who asked not to be identified.

Meanwhile, the EIA noted in its latest report that the accumulation of stockpiles shows that even as excess oil production is fading and global markets are re-balancing, the recovery process will be a bumpy ride. The boost in world fuel demand from low prices appears to be fading.