EMEA News
Record Fuel Storage at ARA Ports
Fuel storage Thursday hit record highs of a combined 5.8 million metric tonnes (mt) at Antwerp, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam (ARA) ports, Bloomberg reports.
The figures were released by research house PJK International, whose head, Pieter Kulsen, said they represent the highest level of fuels storage at the ports since his company began collecting relevant data in 1995.
The combined total of 5.8 million mt is said to include 3 million mt of gasoil, as well as 1 million mt of gasoline, as well as amounts of diesel and other processed fuels.
Prices are higher for future deliveries than they are for the present, increasing the incentive to buy and store fuels such as gasoline and gasoil now for future delivery dates.
"Those two products have been quite substantially higher," said Kulsen.
"The contango swap curve is stimulating storage: it's profitable to store product."
Since the oil price drop, there have been reports of increased demand for floating storage of oil products as traders seek to benefit from a "contango" market.
However demand for VLCCs is said to have waned in recent days as rates have fallen.
