Asian clean tanker freight rates seen to rise

eshiptrading

--> Rates for clean tankers on key Asian freight routes are expected to rise this week as strong demand for refined products helps offset a surplus of tonnage.

For crude tankers, rates are seen mixed with pressure from ample supplies and the unrest in OPEC member Libya, shipbrokers said.
Rates for clean tankers travelling from South Korea to Singapore climbed to a six-month high of $10.02 a tonne from $9.91 last week on strong naphtha demand in Asia.
Tight supplies out of the Middle East kept naphtha demand firm despite the prospect of a decline in buying from quake-hit Japanese crackers.
''The market is fairly active and the tonnage list now looks tight up to April 14,'' said broker firm ICAP.
Japan has shut nearly a quarter of its cracker capacity, but JX Nippon OIl & Energy and Maruzen Petrochemical have announced plans to resume operations.
''Japanese demand remains surprisingly stable despite the earthquake,'' said a Tokyo-based shipbroker. ''With the exception of the rise in LNG shipments, there has not been any major changes to energy demands.''
Medium range (MR) tankers travelling from Singapore to Japan rose to four-week high of W131.93 on Monday from W127.21 last week.
The Baltic Exchange's rate for South Korea to North America's West Coast steadied at $29.82 a tonne, unchanged from last week.
The world's benchmark Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) export route from the Middle East to Japan eased to a four-week low of W58.36 on Monday from W63.03 last week.
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