Increased Mideast crude shipments raise tanker rates.

摘要

Shipments of crude from Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE via tanker have been on the rise in recent days as buyers appear for higher prices ahead of an expected formal agreement by OPEC at its meeting in Vienna, Austria next month to limit production to 32.5-33.0MM b/d. According to London-based shipbroker Galbraith Ltd., traders booked 141 spot cargoes to move Middle Eastern crude via tanker this month which is the highest amount of spot cargoes booked to move via tanker in Oct. in at least 12 years. The uptick in spot cargo shipments via tanker have pushed tanker rates to move Middle Eastern crude to Asia to a four-month high of $46,896/d. Analysts at ABN AMRO Capital Markets said in a research note that daily tanker rates could continue to climb ahead of the OPEC meeting on the back of higher spot purchases prior to the OPEC meeting combined with rising production from Nigeria.