The world’s largest oil traders are scraping the bottom of the barrel in search of their next big opportunity.

Oil prices will stay low for up to 10 years as Chinese economic growth slows and the US shale industry acts as a cap on any rally, according to the world’s largest independent oil-trading house.

Trafigura disclosed $4.3bn (€3.98bn) in oil-related payments to governments in 2013, as part of increased transparency by the third-largest independent oil trader.

Swiss voters appear to have rejected a proposal to limit executives’ pay to 12 times that of junior employees, a measure that would have gone further than any other developed nation.

US petrol at the pump may have reached its annual peak the earliest in 14 years, amid rising oil supply, easing Middle East tensions and the takeover of refineries that were threatened by closure.