Hello? Calling about a glut.

“Today there is plenty of oil in the market. I repeat: there is plenty of oil in the market. Our problem is a problem of dislocation — a problem of logistics. And it is creating challenges for many countries, some more than others.”

The immortal words above come from our all-time favourite IEA head Fatih Birol. Uttered last Friday, the exclusive selection of second-smallest meaningful units of language was meant to reassure markets going frantic due to the tanker stuckage in the Persian Gulf. And just like that, unnoticed, the “We’re all gonna die of an oil glut!” story died and was quietly buried. Oh, yes, and there’s no gas glut any more, either, in case anyone was wondering. Time to start the countdown to a shortage, which Asian governments already have.