Asian tanker rates under pressure

Rates for oil tankers on key Asian freight routes are seen steady to lower over the next week as freight demand declines due to IEA's stock release and slower bookings

for naphtha shipments, shipbrokers said on Tuesday.
Rates on the benchmark Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) export route from the Middle East to Japan slipped to a two-month low of W49.03 from W49.08 last week on limited activity.
''The Middle East Gulf market is moving slowly and there seems to be no sign of any light at the end of the tunnel,'' said broker firm ICAP.
The dirty tanker market has steadied near 2011 lows following the IEA's announcement in mid-June that its members would release up to 60 million barrels from its emergency stocks.
IEA's surprise action has pressured freight rates as oil consuming nations were likely to rely less on imports following the release of their reserves.
''While we expect tanker market conditions to improve by the end of 2011, our expectations for a recovery in the tanker market have been both delayed and reduced as a result of the IEA's decision,'' said Douglas Mavrinac, analyst with Jefferies & Company.
''IEA interference creates significant uncertainty for the tanker market.''
The Baltic Exchange's rate for 260,000-tonne crude tankers from West Africa to China traded at W47.50, unchanged from last week. The market hit a 2011 low of W47.48 earlier this month.
Source: Reuters