Uche Cecil Izuora
There is sharp drop on the number of tankers traversing the Strait of Hormuz and currently limited to ten-day average, according to ship-trackers, with Kpler reporting only four tanker crossings for Tuesday.
That is below a ten-day average of 13 tankers, Reuters reported.
Windward, meanwhile, reported four tankers entering the strait, two of them in dark mode, and three exiting on Tuesday, one of them in dark mode. Earlier this week, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said a total of 17 million barrels of crude had passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday alone.
“When you factor in bypass volumes, it suggests Persian Gulf oil flows are above pre-war levels,” ING commodity analysts said in a note. “But these numbers are uncertain. Ship trackers have been estimating much more modest flows.” They added that “It makes more sense to look at average flows over longer periods, rather than a single day, given flows move lots day to day.”
The latest tanker traffic numbers come on the heels of reports about Iran striking two tankers in Hormuz, in response to U.S. attacks launched over the weekend, which pushed oil prices higher, with Brent crude topping $96 per barrel earlier today and West Texas Intermediate trading at over $90 per barrel.
“I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait, and their economy totally collapsing,” President Trump said, as quoted by Reuters. “They are just playing out the inevitable. When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?”
Iran’s response was in the same vein, with the country’s joint military command issuing a statement saying “We warn that the continuation of American evil in the region will be met with heavier, more widespread, and devastating responses, and any country that cooperates with the aggressive American army must accept its dangerous consequences.