Industry Note No. 11 - Global Chemical Glut May Slip
This Chemicals Industry Note was produced by McQuilling Services Singapore and provides the group’s forecast of an anticipated glut in new chemical capacity over the next 5-7 years and how their view differs from the strong claims regarding China’s capability in commercializing this projected supply.
Industry Note No. 10 - Floating Storage Opportunity
As we noted in a recent industry note: No. 8 – Plenty of Suitors For These Older Ladies, an increasing amount of spot fixture activity has been carried out by disadvantaged tankers in 2016 year-to-date. Meanwhile, a good amount of older tankers have also been fixed for operational floating storage in the time charter market this year due to a lack of onshore storage facilities. However, over the last few weeks, we have observed a notable shift toward inventory drawdowns from refiners, reducing the need for this type of floating storage. As one cause for floating storage is abating, a new one may be emerging: the recent strengthening of the US Dollar amid “Brexit” has pressured spot crude prices more than forward levels, revealing short-term arbitrage opportunities conductive to floating storage.