Oil Tanker Rates Soar Amid Shipping Shortages and Middle East Tensions

Oil Tanker Rates Spike on Iran Tensions, Tight Supply

Last week’s speculations about escalating tensions between Iran and the U.S. prompted a rush from charterers to secure vessels ahead of any potential supply disruption, shipbrokers said.

Oil Tanker Rates Soar Amid Shipping Shortages and Middle East Tensions

Oil tanker rates on the key Middle East-to-China route surged this week to the highest level since November as vessel supply is tightening and persistent tensions around Iran put shippers on alert. The daily rate for an oil tanker to ship crude from the Middle East to China jumped to as high as $129,000 on Monday, up by 5.1% on the day, to the highest level since November 2025, per data from the Baltic Exchange cited by Bloomberg.  Rates had alr…

Hedge funds build bullish oil positions amid Iran tensions and US supply disruptions

Hedge funds have turned increasingly bullish on crude oil, with positioning in Brent reaching its highest level since April as geopolitical tensions with Iran and severe winter weather in the US tightened near-term supply expectations, according to a report by Bloomberg citing data from IOCE Futures Europe. The figures show that money managers increased net long-only positions in Brent by 19,409 contracts to 377,371 lots in the week to 27 Januar…