Merryn Talks Money

The Commodities Hoarding Era Has Arrived

From oil to rare earth metals and a lot more, just-in-time is no longer enough.
Oil storage tanks at a petrochemical production base on the outskirts of Shanghai, China, on Saturday, June 28, 2025. China buys around 90% of Iran's oil exports of roughly 1.7 million barrels a day.Source: Bloomberg
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China is stockpiling oil. All in, says Michael Haigh, global head of FIC and commodities research at Société Générale, the country probably has some 1.4 billion barrels stashed away.

That’s “gigantic,” he says, covering its needs for “hundreds of days” should something go wrong with the global supply chain. Ninety days is more the international norm. But China isn’t stopping there: some think it could keep going until supplies clear 2 billion barrels.