MARKET TALK: Kuwait Strike Draws Attention From Shippers

0940 GMT [Dow Jones] Shipping market participants will closely watch a strike by Kuwait’s customs officials. A short strike will create loading delays and could be a bullish factor for one or two weeks, but a prolonged transport disruption may halt oil production, reduce freight demand and be bearish for the markets, shipbrokers say. “So far there hasn’t been much impact…but I’ll keep watching this,” a shipbroker says. Six to seven oil tankers have been prohibited from leaving Kuwait since Monday, the AFP reports, quoting an union official. The spot VLCC rate for Middle East-Japan route was last assessed Monday at W41.24, versus W41.46 a week ago, Baltic Exchange data show.
[I]- By Max Lin, Dow Jones Newswires[/I]