Opec and IEA diverge on world’s capacity cushion

As trade tensions and disruptions ripple through the market, Opec and the IEA disagree on the risks to supply

Global energy bodies parted ways this week on the expected impact of oil capacity risks caused by sanctions and production outages in Venezuela, Libya and elsewhere. While the International Energy Agency's monthly report projected that capacity could be "stretched to the limit ", Opec said rising supply, particularly from its rivals, will easily meet slowing global demand growth. The prospect of tightened markets saw WTI prices spike as high as $74.77 a barrel in recent weeks, frustrating Opec's efforts to moderate prices, announced following the group's Vienna meeting at the end of June. But this week global trade tensions, a revival of Libyan production and US assurances over Iran sancti