Project Description
The oil price surged from $66 to $82 during the first half of April and then declined back to $70 which may have accounted for the decline in crude oil volumes after a strong March. Crude oil is still 7% ahead of April last year and has been predominately influenced by Chinese trade. VLCC’s and Aframaxes seems to be doing particularly well.
Asian demand for LNG has been declining all year while there has been a moderate growth in Europe. Overall there is a 5% decline in April compared to March.
Overall Chemicals have declined 5 million tonnes YTD to April compared to last year but some chemicals are performing better than others. Ethanol and Methanol have had stronger trade numbers in recent months.