- Rates for the largest oil tankers are surging, as Chinese freight traders lead an acceleration in Asian demand for the ships to load Middle East crude, sapping a fleet surplus that had made the carriers unprofitable almost all year.
- A VLCC built 16 years ago reportedly was hired today at ~13% more than yesterday’s prevailing prices, for the biggest one-day gain in 2013; rising demand has cut a capacity surplus to the smallest since June 4, according to a Bloomberg survey.
- FRO +9.4%, SFL +0.8%, NAT +3%, TK +1.3%, TNK +0.1%, TOO +0.1%, TGP -0.1%.