Chinese Crude Sourcing Offers Continued Support to VLCCs

The rapid growth of Chinese oil product demand, refining capacity and crude imports has been a supportive feature of crude tanker demand for years, and is poised to continue this trend. Recent shifts in Chinese crude import volumes and sourcing patterns have provided a recent boost to tanker demand in 1h12 and have allowed VLCC earnings to recover. Many of these crude import shifts are part of a secular trend that will continue to be supportive for the sector, but some of the recent activity is more ephemeral, suggesting that demand growth may slow during the balance of 2012. Download here