Lower Ship-Fuel Prices Said by Dahlman Rose to Aid Tanker Rates

Lower prices for ship fuel, or bunkers, are supporting oil-tanker earnings, according to U.S. investment bank Dahlman Rose & Co.

Hire rates for very large crude carriers, the biggest vessels hauling the commodity, rose “significantly” for cargoes loading in West Africa, New York-based analyst Omar Nokta said in a report today. The daily cost of chartering a VLCC to carry crude from the region to the U.S. Gulf Coast gained about $10,500 a day in the past week to $50,000, he said.

Daily VLCC rates for cargoes to be carried east from the Persian Gulf climbed $3,500 a day to reach $40,000, boosted by a drop in fuel prices of about $60 a metric ton since the end of April, according to Nokta. Each VLCC can hold 2 million barrels of crude.

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