As the week draws to a close and we head into the long weekend, we failed to see an uptick in yesterday’s activity. Market sentiment appears to be be more on the downside. With the LR2 Market dropping another 10pts ,75@W90 which BP placed on subs for a main haul on the Maersk Petrel, how much further will freight rates fall? The only thing that Owners seem to be able to bank on is the presence of short-haul activity to keep their ships moving and that their ships are still bringing home some bacon.

The MR market remains muted as activity continue to be drab. A widely-expected Chinese consumption tax to be imposed on mixed aromatics and light cycle oil imports has weighed further on market sentiment.

The tide has indeed turned in Charterer’s favour.