Tankers: Highest earning week for the crude tanker market in the past 5 years
The tanker market experienced its strongest week since April 2020, following the global shutdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. VLCCs had the strongest week within the segment, with earnings surging by 42% week-on-week to $117,500/day. Suezmaxes and Aframaxes also experienced growth this past week, with the tanker segment undergoing 26% growth week-on-week. OPEC+ agreed to raise production by ~137,000 b/d in December then pause increases into Q1 2026, to prevent potential oversupply.

LPG/VLGC: Segment strength following US-China trade truce
Rates in the West firmed this week, fuelled by news of the US-China trade truce.  Sentiment also appears positive in the East, as operators are now less concerned with USTR port fees, following the positive meeting between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump which led to the delay of port fees between the two countries. The pause in reciprocal US-China fees has tightened available tonnage, leading to expectations of higher VLGC spot rates.

PCTC: Segment remains stable; Toyota and Honda turn to India for vehicle production
Rare earth minerals, which are essential to the EV and automotive sector, were a key point of concern prior to Trump and Xi Jingpeng’s meeting. China, which dominates global rare earth mining and processing and automotive manufacturing, will keep rare earth mineral exports flowing under a one-year agreement. This is positive for the PCTC segment, within the near-term, as it does not disrupt trade flows. Toyota and Honda are turning to India for car production, in a pivot away from China. In the long-term, this will change trade flows and vessel patterns within the PCTC segment.

Geopolitical: Global trade patterns reimagined following US sanctions on Russian oil majors
Following the US sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, The Rosneft operated oil terminal in Tuapse in the Black Sea was attacked by Ukranian drones. Tuapse is one of the main Russian crude and products outlets with a capacity of 240kbbls/d. Approximately 20% of the refinery capacity is currently nonfunctioning due to Ukrainian drone attacks. Indian refiners, including Reliance and state-owned companies, have temporarily halted imports of Russian crude and are seeking alternative supplies from the Middle East and the United States. On the products side, Europe now imports around 1.9 million barrels per day from refiners in countries such as India, likely using Russian feedstock, though the downstream profits are now captured elsewhere.