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That was the highest in almost three years and well above the previous 2025 high during the Israel-Iran conflict in June, when fears of disruption to supply or trade flows sent charter rates soaring.The last time VLCC rates were at the current high levels was in 2022, on the back of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the massive crude oil releases from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserves, U.S.-based brokers Poten & Partners said.This time, the spike in freight rates is not the result of another geopolitical upheaval. It reflects fundamentals that are currently favorable for tanker owners and operators—rising supply from the Middle East and the Americas and stronger flows to Asia.As OPEC+ continues to raise production, shipments out of the world’s key exporting region, the Middle East, are on the rise. Additionally, Saudi Arabia has slashed the prices of its crude loading for Asia next month, further incentivizing crude flows to the top oil-importing region.Moreover, Middle Eastern producers are set to ship more crude after the end of the scorching summer, during which many countries in the region use direct crude burn for electricity.Related: US Oil Drillers Add More Oil Rigs as Prices ClimbThe global tanker fleet is now split between tankers and tanker owners complying with the sanctions on Iran and Russia and the price caps on Russian crude, and those that do not and enter the shadow fleet. This further squeezes supply for tankers to move crude around the world.As a result of all these factors, the spot rate for a VLCC on the Middle East to China route has jumped to at least $6.6 million, the highest level since November 2022, with daily rates on several chartered tankers hitting $100,000.Oil supply increases from the Americas and strong demand for long-distance shipments everywhere are supporting tanker rates, Lars Barstad, CEO at Norway’s tanker giant Frontline, told Bloomberg earlier this month.Terms and Privacy PolicyPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore InfoS&P Futures6,701.25 -12.25 (-0.18%)Dow Futures46,524.00 -88.00 (-0.19%)Nasdaq Futures24,785.00 -52.75 (-0.21%)Russell 2000 Futures2,446.60 -4.20 (-0.17%)VIX16.60 +0.48 (+2.98%)Gold3,870.60 +15.40 (+0.40%)PortfolioSign in to access your portfolioSign inTop gainersWOLF Wolfspeed, Inc. 22.10 +20.89 (+1,726.45%)MRUS Merus N.V. 93.67 +24.78 (+35.97%)GRAL GRAIL, Inc. 58.77 +8.91 (+17.87%)SNDK Sandisk Corporation 113.50 +16.38 (+16.87%)ETSY Etsy, Inc. 74.34 +10.16 (+15.83%)Top losersMENS Jyong Biotech Ltd. 50.00 -9.74 (-16.30%)CART Maplebear Inc. 37.92 -4.40 (-10.40%)FORD Forward Industries, Inc. 26.51 -2.72 (-9.31%)PGY Pagaya Technologies Ltd. 31.76 -2.88 (-8.31%)UPST Upstart Holdings, Inc. 52.74 -4.60 (-8.02%)Most activeTLRY Tilray Brands, Inc. 1.8500 +0.7000 (+60.87%)SNAP Snap Inc. 8.40 +0.13 (+1.57%)NVDA NVIDIA Corporation 181.85 +3.66 (+2.05%)OPEN Opendoor Technologies Inc. 8.20 -0.61 (-6.92%)INTC Intel Corporation 34.48 -1.02 (-2.87%)Earnings eventsMy earnings eventsEarnings eventsTrending tickersWOLF Wolfspeed, Inc. 22.10 +20.89 (+1,726.45%)HOOD Robinhood Markets, Inc. 136.72 +14.94 (+12.27%)PYPL PayPal Holdings, Inc. 69.68 +2.38 (+3.54%)TLRY Tilray Brands, Inc. 1.8500 +0.7000 (+60.87%)ETSY Etsy, Inc. 74.34 +10.16 (+15.83%)Top economic eventsPowered by Money.com - Yahoo may earn commission from the links above.