Hormuz Tanker Rates Top $1.035 Million a Day as Iran War Drives Oil Above $100
Updated
Updated · Fortune · Sep 18
Hormuz Tanker Rates Top $1.035 Million a Day as Iran War Drives Oil Above $100
3 articles · Updated · Fortune · Sep 18
Summary
$1.035 million per day is now the cost to move crude from the Persian Gulf to China via the Strait of Hormuz, the first time that route has crossed seven figures.
Escalating attacks on commercial shipping are driving the surge: two tankers were hit by projectiles on Friday, while war-risk insurance has jumped to about 10% of cargo value from 0.5%-1% before the war.
Commercial traffic through Hormuz has thinned, but constrained supply and urgent Gulf exports have kept demand high enough to push crude back above $100 a barrel and let shipowners charge steep premiums.
Refiners are absorbing higher freight and crude costs, squeezing margins and feeding through to consumers; diesel has topped $6, about 60% above prewar levels.
Shipping firms are the main beneficiaries: Clarksons reported record quarterly earnings with operating profit up 55% year over year, and the Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF has surged more than 3,600% this year.