Crude Oil Tanker Rates Slump
John Robertson
PortfolioDirect
The Baltic Exchange maritime market price indices are often used as indicators of commodity market conditions although they are mostly of uncertain value. Movements in an index may reflect changed commodity shipment rates, from which inferences about usage can be drawn, but they can also be due to changes in shipping capacity following the launch of new vessels, for example, or the scrapping of existing ships. The Baltic dirty tanker index, shown in the chart, does warrant a mention, however, having fallen dramatically since mid-June. This is the index related directly to the shipment of crude oil. Tankers can also be used as storage capacity so some care must be taken in drawing inferences from charter prices about near term movements in usage. Nonetheless, the index change over the past week is consistent with deteriorating crude oil market balances and the lower crude prices witnessed over the last two weeks.
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John Robertson is Chief Investment Strategist for PortfolioDirect a provider of resource sector investment stock ratings and portfolio strategies for mining and oil and gas investors. He has worked as a policy economist, corporate business strategist and investment market professional for over 30 years after starting his career as a Commonwealth Treasury economist in Canberra. Since being Australia's top-rated commodities analyst and chief economist at one of Australia' leading stockbroking firms, he has advised companies across the mining, consumer products, IT and biotech sectors on their equity market relations. He leads the firm's investment evaluation and security structuring activities on behalf of the Australian Small Scale Offerings Board (ASSOB), the world's first equity 'crowdfunding' investment platform. John Robertson discusses the interaction of mining and investment markets in his weekly 'From the Capital' column in Mining Journal.
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John Robertson
PortfolioDirect
John Robertson is Chief Investment Strategist for PortfolioDirect a provider of resource sector investment stock ratings and portfolio strategies for mining and oil and gas investors. He has worked as a policy economist, corporate business...
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John Robertson
PortfolioDirect
John Robertson is Chief Investment Strategist for PortfolioDirect a provider of resource sector investment stock ratings and portfolio strategies for mining and oil and gas investors. He has worked as a policy economist, corporate business...
Expertise
No areas of expertise
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