Oversupply of oil could create glut of 4m barrels a day, says energy watchdog
The world is producing more oil than it needs and by next year there could be a glut of 4m excess barrels a day entering the market, according to the global energy watchdog.The International Energy Agency said the surplus in 2026 was likely to be larger than previously forecast, despite a decision from the biggest oil producers to pause their plan to increase crude exports.The Paris-based agency, which was set up after the 1973 oil crisis to monitor global supplies, pointed to a slower-than-usual growth in the world’s oil demand to explain the growing glut.“Global oil market balances are looking increasingly lopsided, as world oil supply is forging ahead while oil demand growth remains modest by historical standards,” the IEA said.The warning of a looming oversupply has emerged in the same week that the agency published its energy outlook report, including a controversial scenario in which global oil demand would continue to grow until 2050.
The model, which takes a conservative view of global climate action, was dropped in 2020 after the IEA was repeatedly criticised for underestimating the growth of renewable energy in its annual report.The IEA returned the scenario to its outlook this year after calls from the White House to present a more optimistic view for the future of oil.The IEA has denied it reintroduced its new scenario in response to pressure from the US.Critics of the forecast believe it underestimates the pace of electric vehicle take-up, particularly in developing countries in Asia, a trend that is already helping to reduce the world’s demand for oil.The IEA’s report, which comes as leaders gather in Belém, in Brazil, for the Cop30 climate talks, also included two main scenarios in which oil consumption reached a peak by 2030 because of the strong take-up onof electric vehicles and renewable energy.
In all scenarios, renewable energy is expected to at least double over the next five years.The outlook suggested the world was likely to build more renewable energy projects in the next five years than had been rolled out over the past 40.The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) said there was now “irreversible momentum towards the age of electricity”, which in every IEA scenario showed that renewable energy was “growing faster than any other major energy source”.A GWEC spokesperson said: “It is important an outdated political narrative does not distract from this data-driven reality.”In its monthly report the IEA said it now expected global oil supply to grow by about 3.
1m barrels per day (bpd) in 2025, and by 2.5m bpd next year, each up by about 100,000 bpd on the month.With supply outpacing demand, the IEA’s latest monthly oil report suggested that by 2026 total oil supply would be 4.09m bpd higher than total demand, up from an implied surplus of 3.97m bpd in last month’s report.
US markets struggle amid tech sell-off and economic uncertainty
Wall Street came under pressure on Thursday, enduring its worst day in a month as a sell-off of technology stocks intensified.After an extraordinary rally around hopes for artificial intelligence that propelled global stock markets to record highs, fears that tech firms are now overvalued loom large.Investors are also braced for the release of a batch of official data on the state of the US economy, amid heightened uncertainty over its strength during the federal government shutdown.The benchmark S&P 500 and the Dow Jones industrial average each closed down 1.7% in New York on Thursday, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite dropped 2
Atom is prematurely split in the ‘golden age’ transatlantic partnership | Nils Pratley
It had all been so harmonious two months ago. “Together with the US, we’re building a golden age of nuclear that puts both countries at the forefront of global innovation and investment,” purred the prime minister about the new “landmark” UK-US nuclear partnership.Now there’s an atomic split over the first significant decision. The UK has allocated Wylfa on the island of Anglesey, or Ynys Môn, to host three small modular reactors (SMRs) to be built by the British developer Rolls-Royce SMR. The US ambassador, Warren Stephens, says his country is “extremely disappointed”: he wanted Westinghouse, a US company, to get the gig for a large-scale reactor
AI slop tops Billboard and Spotify charts as synthetic music spreads
Three songs generated by artificial intelligence topped music charts this week, reaching the highest spots on Spotify and Billboard charts.Walk My Walk and Livin’ on Borrowed Time by the outfit Breaking Rust topped Spotify’s “Viral 50” songs in the US, which documents the “most viral tracks right now” on a daily basis, according to the streaming service. A Dutch song, We Say No, No, No to an Asylum Center, an anti-migrant anthem by JW “Broken Veteran” that protests against the creation of new asylum centers, took the top position in Spotify’s global version of the viral chart around the same time. Breaking Rust also appeared in the top five on the global chart.“You can kick rocks if you don’t like how I talk,” reads a lyric from Walk My Walk, a seeming double entendre challenging those opposed to AI-generated music
UK firms can win a significant chunk of the AI chip market | John Browne
The UK is in a uniquely promising position, far too little understood, to play a lucrative role in the coming era of artificial intelligence – but only if it also grabs the opportunity to start making millions of computer chips.AI requires vast numbers of chips and we could supply up to 5% of world demand if we get our national act together.Our legacy in chip design is world-class, starting with the first general-purpose electronic computer, the first electronic memory and the first parallel computer. Today we have Cambridge-based Arm, a quiet titan designing more than 90% of the chips powering phones and tablets globally.With such a pedigree, it is not idle daydreaming for British companies to win a significant chunk of the AI chip market; 5% is a conservative, achievable ambition
Eli Katoa’s playing future uncertain as recovery from head impacts, seizures and brain surgery continues
Melbourne Storm backrower and Tonga star Eli Katoa faces the prospect of further weeks in hospital and possibly time in a rehabilitation centre as he begins his slow recovery from brain surgery after he suffered three head knocks against New Zealand 12 days ago.The 25-year-old remains in hospital in Auckland, and alarming information provided by his club on Friday indicates there is no guarantee one of the game’s best forwards will play again.Katoa appeared to suffer a concussion in the warmup in the Pacific Championships clash two weeks ago when his head collided with Tonga teammate Lehi Hopoate.But he was allowed to play, and received two more head impacts during the game, before suffering seizures on the sideline and needing emergency surgery to release bleeding on the brain.The Storm chief executive, Justin Rodski, said Katoa’s recovery was only beginning
Donald Trump’s granddaughter Kai in last after 83 in shaky LPGA debut
Kai Trump, the US president’s granddaughter and the eldest child of Donald Trump Jr, opened her LPGA career with a 13-over-par 83 on Thursday at The Annika, a debut round that left her at the bottom of the leaderboard and underscored the chasm between elite junior golf and a field stacked with the sport’s top professionals.The 18-year-old amateur, playing on a much-discussed sponsor’s exemption, began her round on the back nine alongside former major champion Hinako Shibuno and Germany’s Olivia Cowan. She received warm applause when her name was announced on the par-4 10th tee and again after she drove it safely into the fairway, one of the few calm moments in a jittery start.Trump confessed afterward she was more nervous than when she spoke at the Republican National Convention last year and it showed. She bogeyed her opening four holes, a run of tentative strokes that left her scrambling before she had taken a fifth swing from a fairway
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