Asian clean tanker rates recover

Asian clean tanker freight rates on Middle East routes rebounded on Monday, on a spurt of naphtha system barrel bookings into North Asia, shipbrokers said.
Long Range 2 (LR2) tankers of 75,000 tonnes moving from the Middle East into Japan were valued at about W180 levels, about 10 points higher than Thursday's Asian close but still about 22 percent below Friday's Baltic settlement.
"We had been seeing nothing on this route for the last 10 days, so when these bookings came in, there was a little buzz in the market, but it could be short-lived," a Singapore based shipbroker said.
Japanese trader Itochu had provisionally booked the LR2 tanker Overseas Jacamar for W165 late last week, but the fixture failed, shipbrokers said.
On Monday, the LR2 tankers Stersa and Agathonissos were provisionally booked out of the Middle East. Charterer details were not immediately available. Both cargoes are scheduled for a discharge in Japan sometime in the second-half of July.
Middle East diesel exports continue to pressure freight rates on this route as producers divert their supplies into a domestic market that is driven by a robust construction industry and high air-condition use due to the onset of summer.
Rates for MR clean fuel tankers moving from Singapore into Japan were stable, flooring losses of more than 25 percent seen since second-half May, caused by a build up of tonnage in the region.
Rates for MR tankers moving on this route were pegged at W250 or $597,000 ($2.48 a barrel), unchanged from Thursday's Asian close and a point lower than Friday's Baltic Exchange close. Healthy global arbitrage opportunities have since given the market a lift.
"I see the trans-Pacific arbitrage, and intra-Asian arbitrage opportunities getting more active, in addition to the trans-Atlantic activity, all this should keep the market well supported," a shipbroker said.
A total of about 1.5 million tonnes of June loading gasoline cargoes have been fixed into the New York harbour or the US Gulf Coast, and shipbrokers are beginning to watch for delays.
"There is some congestion already causing some short-term delays, and we are watching this closely, if it comes to a point where we can't get the backhaul option worked in time, then its going to be a problem," a shipbroker said.