LPG: caught between topsy-turvy trade policies as market enters seasonally strong period
- With US-China tariffs significantly eased — at least temporarily — flows from US Gulf to China are likely to resume
- USTR plan could lead to a decoupling of freight rates in the Middle East Gulf and the US Gulf, with Chinese-owned vessels shunning the US
- Easing of US-China trade tensions comes as VLGCs enter the seasonally stronger months, and as new export capacity in the US Gulf is set to come online
VLGCs are entering the seasonally stronger second half of the year amid the fallout from the US-China trade war