Europe-U.S. gasoline cargoes may rise
Gasoline shipments to the U.S. from Europe are set to gain 4 percent over the next two weeks as the surplus of available tankers may narrow, a survey showed, Bloomberg reports. Twenty-six vessels were booked or due to be chartered for loading to Dec. 22, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey yesterday of four shipbrokers, two traders and one owner, all of whom specialize in shipping the auto fuel. That’s one more cargo hired than for the two weeks to Dec. 15, according to the survey data.
Closings of some U.S refineries in 2012 may offer respite to European rivals over the next one to two years, even as gasoline demand falls in the world’s biggest economy, Ehsan Ul- Haq, a senior consultant at KBC Energy Economics in Walton-on- Thames, England, said by e-mail today. Gasoline futures traded in New York have climbed 4.5 percent this year.
“U.S. refiners are likely to lose some of their competitive advantage next year due to rising WTI prices against Brent,” Ul-Haq said by e-mail today. He was referring to West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark U.S. crude contract traded in New York, and its counterpart in London.
$10,312 a Day
There are 20 vessels likely to be available to carry gasoline across the Atlantic Ocean, six fewer than for the prior two-week period, the survey showed. Tankers on the voyage are earning $10,312 a day, according to the Baltic Exchange in London. Hiring a vessel for the journey costs 170.63 industry- standard Worldscale points.
Of the vessels chartered or due to be hired, 15 have been booked and 11 more will probably be arranged, the survey showed. The ships, known in the industry as medium-range tankers, will be able to carry about 8.18 million barrels of gasoline, or 584,000 barrels a day over the next two weeks. That’s 71 percent of the 819,000 barrels the U.S. imported daily over the past year, according to the Department of Energy.
The survey is based on so-called single-voyage, or spot, charters and excludes loadings under longer-term contracts. It assumes shipments to the U.S. East Coast from northwestern Europe. Each tanker would normally haul about 37,000 tons of cargo, or 315,000 barrels.
Closings of some U.S refineries in 2012 may offer respite to European rivals over the next one to two years, even as gasoline demand falls in the world’s biggest economy, Ehsan Ul- Haq, a senior consultant at KBC Energy Economics in Walton-on- Thames, England, said by e-mail today. Gasoline futures traded in New York have climbed 4.5 percent this year.
“U.S. refiners are likely to lose some of their competitive advantage next year due to rising WTI prices against Brent,” Ul-Haq said by e-mail today. He was referring to West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark U.S. crude contract traded in New York, and its counterpart in London.
$10,312 a Day
There are 20 vessels likely to be available to carry gasoline across the Atlantic Ocean, six fewer than for the prior two-week period, the survey showed. Tankers on the voyage are earning $10,312 a day, according to the Baltic Exchange in London. Hiring a vessel for the journey costs 170.63 industry- standard Worldscale points.
Of the vessels chartered or due to be hired, 15 have been booked and 11 more will probably be arranged, the survey showed. The ships, known in the industry as medium-range tankers, will be able to carry about 8.18 million barrels of gasoline, or 584,000 barrels a day over the next two weeks. That’s 71 percent of the 819,000 barrels the U.S. imported daily over the past year, according to the Department of Energy.
The survey is based on so-called single-voyage, or spot, charters and excludes loadings under longer-term contracts. It assumes shipments to the U.S. East Coast from northwestern Europe. Each tanker would normally haul about 37,000 tons of cargo, or 315,000 barrels.
