(+) Tankermarkedet – oppdatering

Flat on the surface: The tanker market looks increasingly flat on the surface at least, as volumes have stagnated over the last couple of weeks and are likely to extend until the end of the summer.
16. July 2023 – RESEARCH

However, with oil prices starting to push higher again, it at least increases the likelihood for non-OPEC countries (and Russia) to start increasing exports and production to higher levels than before. When we look at the recent oil cuts, it offers a fair question of whether Saudi and other member states purely have acted based on greed or whether the demand is that weak, and whether we are walking towards a recession. The Fed in the US has already proposed the idea of two additional rate hikes this year which, would damage the economy, but as inflation numbers are now showing a correction, there is a chance that a «soft landing» can be achieved, in which case one more rate hike should be sufficient
to call it a crisis averted. The interesting take here is; if OPEC has already taken the precautions for «expected» weaker demand and a recession period, then if we do
enter slower economic times, we should not expect much change in the supply of the oil market, at least from OPEC, and in such reality, it would not affect the tanker market much either, the only thing that would, is newbuildings.