LR rates, which mostly caught up with MRrnrates in the first quarter, remained stablernin April mainly supported by Nigerianrnmotor fuel demand. Nigerian demand,rncoupled with low gasoline refining marginsrnin Europe and subdued transatlanticrnarbitrage, has kept gasoline flow fromrnEurope to West Africa and has employedrnLR tankers. Nigeria neither has enoughrncapacity to produce gasoline nor hasrnenough storage space. Nearly 1.5 millionrntonnes of fuel has been stored off therncoast of West Africa on tankers to ensurernan uninterrupted flow of motor fuel untilrnat least February-2019 when the nationalrnelections are due. State-owned NNPC hasrnrecently floated a tender to buy 10 gasolinerncargoes of 37,000 tonnes in May, on top ofrnregular purchases against crude oil swap.
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