Over the long term, fundamental supply and demand factors, such as global oil demand and fleet size determine the direction of tanker freight rates. However, in the short- to medium term other factors, such as market psychology, geopolitics or weather events can have a significant impact on top of market fundamentals and seasonality. As we are approaching the 4th quarter of 2021, it seems that the combination of gradually improving oil demand fundamentals, in combination with seasonal factors and the impact of adverse weather events could propel oil demand higher during the winter season in the Northern Hemisphere. Exactly what that might mean for the tanker market we will try to discover in this week’s Tanker Opinion.
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