VOL. XXXIX

No. 55

14-October-1996

OPEC

IEA Forecasts 600,000 B/D Supply Cushion This Winter

With the high-demand heating season fast approaching and little prospect of any shift away from just-in-time inventory management on the part of profit-conscious refiners, the question of whether the supply cushion will be sufficient to get the industry through the 1996-97 winter without a significant run-up in prices beyond current high levels has been attracting a good deal of attention lately....