Tanker prices suggest oil glut is diminishing

One of the warning lights that there is too much oil around is no longer flashing, adding to signs that global crude markets are finally on the mend.

Just a month ago, oil traders were weighing up whether to park unwanted crude aboard tankers, while BP chief executive Bob Dudley joked that swimming pools might be needed to hold the excess.

Yet instead of offering bumper profits, as in previous market gluts, stockpiling barrels on ships would result in a financial loss, just as it has done for the past six months, in a sign the current surplus may not be as big as feared.