Supertanker Prices Spike By Nearly 678% On Oil Market War And Storage Plays

Supertanker Prices Spike By Nearly 678% On Oil Market War And Storage Plays

One source told your correspondent, the VLCC lease rate is currently at $42,000 per day, up from $30,000 on March 6 (the day of the collapse of OPEC+ talks) and $16,000 on February 1, an uptick of 162.5%. ". As the oil price first spiked to $144 per barrel then plummeted to $37, and subsequently doubled when the financial crisis showed signs of receding, the company raked in handsomely via lock-ins taken in December 2008 with a six month forward sale.. Shipping sources say such a "crazy call from a single major entity" has created its own spike, let alone any contango plays being conjured up by traders.. Data aggregators point to 35 VLCCs booked for dispatches to Asia from the Middle East this week alone.. While the jump in VLCC rates is much more pronounced for cargoes heading from the Middle East to Asia, much of the volume would also be heading stateside.. With oil prices down ~50% since their January peak, it is hard to predict where this is going both in terms of Saudis and others flooding the market, or pure contango plays.. I am a UK-based oil & gas sector analyst and business news editor/writer with