The oil price rally has hit the buffers after a shift in the structure of the petroleum market halved the amount of crude held in flotillas of tankers, triggering a jump in crude arriving at coastal refineries.

The drop in floating storage deals to about 50-60m barrels, down from a record 100-120m in April, comes as reinvigorated demand reduces the financial incentive to keep the commodity in tankers offshore, traders and shipbrokers said.