FLOATING STORAGE DROP SIGNALS SHIFT IN MARKET: OPEC CHIEF

Crude oil i n floating storage is declining, showing that the market is rebalancing, OPEC Secretary- General Mohammad Barkindo said. Crude in tankers has fallen by an estimated 40 million barrels this year, according to a transcript of a speech delivered by Barkindo on Monday. The drop has been helped by the return of backwardation — when near-term prices are higher than those in later months, indicating tighter supply. “This trend will obviously make it unprofitable to continue to store crude,” Barkindo said. OPEC and its partners agreed last year to curtail production by 1.8 million barrels a day to reduce bloated global inventories and end the price rout. The group will meet next month in Vienna to decide whether to extend the supply-cut deal beyond the end of March.