Oil Traders Snap Up Tankers in Sign Second-Wave Glut Is Near
- Trafigura leads frenzy of multi-month tanker charters
- Tanker rates crashed, bringing floating storage trade in play
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Some of the world’s biggest oil traders are gearing up for a possible resurgence of a coronavirus-induced glut of crude and fuels, snapping up giant tankers for months-long charters so that they can be ready to store excess barrels if necessary.
The chartering spree is likely to alarm Saudi Arabia, Russia and their allies as it indicates that the oil traders believe the crude market is moving into a surplus after OPEC+ managed to create a deficit earlier this summer with its output cuts.