The oil markets have been seesawing in a spectacular fashion this week, OilPrice said.

Still trying to overcome the pain of so many financials quitting the game last week, a WSJ report that argued OPEC+ was looking to increase its production target by 500,000 b/d come January 2023 has sent prices dovetailing, only to be halted by Saud Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait all denying the rumors and insisting that if anything, OPEC+ would be cutting further. 

The shortage of tankers is taking place across all vessel categories, even VLCC freight costs from the Middle East into Asia Pacific have tripled year-on-year.  Spot differentials for crudes across the Americas are tanking because of higher shipping costs – free-on-board prices for WTI plummeted a whopping $5 per barrel week-on-week to reflect the shipping. 

Earnings on the US Gulf Coast-to-China shipping route have soared above $100,000 per day, equivalent to $7 per barrel, demonstrating the shrinking availability of crude tankers lately. The geopolitics problems and subsequent sanctions have lengthened the average shipping voyage globally, so now charterers have less options and are forced to pay double the rate than over the summer months. 

/OilPrice/