The Iran War Has Turned VLCCs Into $650,000-a-Day Assets

More Gulf oil is moving again. Getting it out now costs a fortune. Earnings on the benchmark Saudi Arabia-to-China supertanker route surged to a record $647,000 per day on Thursday, according to Baltic Exchange data cited by Bloomberg.

That is more than ten times the rate a year ago—and nearly 27% above the $510,000 reached just ten days earlier. The spike comes as Persian Gulf producers increase crude shipments through the Strait of Hormuz despite the continuing Iran war. That should, in theory, ease the oil supply crunch.