UKC-USGC Panamax freight rises above 6-month high; tight tonnage

UK/Continent to US Gulf Coast freight rates for Panamax class vessels rose 7.5 worldscale points to w117.5 Tuesday, their highest in over six months.
They were last higher on January 2 at w124.25, Platts data shows.
"UKC-USGC freight is getting more expensive," said one feedstocks trader Tuesday, citing the w117.5 figure. "And the next one is going to be higher, because very few Panamaxes are around."
A shipbroker agreed on the tight tonnage view. "There are currently no ships at the continent. The only one left, Stena Perros, went on subs today at w117.5 for UKC/Trans-Atlantic. UKC/Med is plus w5 points."
The charterer of the 55,000 mt Stena Perros, carrying fuel oil, was not reported, said shipping sources.
The rising freight rate for the route has made the arbitrage for Vacuum Gasoil to the US less economic, said traders, combined with falling US VGO differentials to crude following weaker gasoline cracks, and a rebounding Brent-WTI spread.
Source: Platts