Product tanker demand under pressure even as crack spreads surge
- Curbs to Middle East Gulf and Russian export volumes are hiking demand in the US Gulf, but potential to increase US volumes is capped
- Refinery crack spreads are unusually high, prompting cargo buyers to pay more for freight, offsetting some of the headwinds in the tonne-mile equation
- Baltic Exchange spot rate indexes confirm that routes loading in US Gulf are outperforming other routes
When refineries are raking in profits from diesel and gasoline, as they are now, one might expect product tanker rates to skyrocket. They’re not, because geopolitical disruptions are limiting availability of seaborne clean cargoes
