Tanker: Average earnings close to $100k per day mark
VL earnings reached a five-year high last week at an average of $128,000 per day, supporting another strong week across the tanker market. The strength in the VL segment lifted overall tanker earnings to an average of $97,000 per day. Suezmax performance continued to benefit from the surge in VL activity, supported by firm conditions in the Mediterranean and Black Sea to Mediterranean routes.

LPG/VLGC: Market softens – recovery expected
Even though there were many cargoes leaving the US Gulf, rates softened slightly over the week. Activity in Asia was limited, mainly because many market participants were attending Bahri Week, which slowed trading. With normal activity expected to resume, the market is likely to strengthen in the coming days. Average spot earnings were $50,240 per day, compared with $55,407 per day the previous week, representing a 9 percent week-on-week decrease.

PCTC: China’s autosector reaches new highs
China’s auto sector reached new highs in October, with production rising 12.1 percent year on year to 3.36 million units and sales increasing 8.8 percent to 3.32 million. This growth supports continued strength in vehicle export demand, which is an important driver for the PCTC market. Higher production volumes typically translate into more outbound shipments of cars and electric vehicles, helping to maintain tight vessel availability and firm freight rates across key export routes. That said, the large orderbook with a number of vessels being delivered in 2026 is expected to offset the positive demand trend.

Geopolitical: Crude prices set to rise as Russia sanctions take hold
OPEC+ reported that global supply exceeded demand in the third quarter, and the IEA expects a larger surplus next year, yet crude prices strengthened as markets anticipate that new US sanctions and recent attacks on Russian energy assets will curb flows. Sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft are already disrupting Russian exports, prompting Indian refiners to shift toward Middle Eastern grades and forcing Lukoil to cut staff and halt operations at its Iraqi field. The IEA also expects stronger refining activity in Europe and Asia through year end as outages lift margins and lower crude prices support US product profitability.