FOB values for Black Sea and Mediterranean crudes have continued to rebound after hitting more than two-year lows early in the new year.
On Monday, Aframax FOB Supsa Azeri Light cargoes were assessed at a $2.295/b premium to the BTC Brent Dated Strip, a more than two-month high.
Similarly, Suezmax FOB Azeri Light cargoes were assessed at a premium of $2.48/b, a more than five-month high.
Both cargo sizes bounced off of multi-year lows versus the BTC Dated Strip in January as freight costs soared to more than five-year highs.
Platts calculates FOB values for many regional crudes as a freight netback to a central Mediterranean, CIF delivered price.
Aframax freight rates on the Black Sea-Mediterranean and Cross-Mediterranean routes, basis 80,000 mt, were assessed Worldscale 2.5 lower Monday, continuing a declining trend that began three weeks ago.
Freight rates have now fallen w205 from a w285 assessment on January 20.
That assessment was the culmination of a month-long surge in rates that arose from a flood of cargoes entering the market along with a serious shortage of available ships owing to severe delays in the Turkish Straits.
With no delays currently affecting the Straits, the position list in the Black Sea and Mediterranean has increased significantly and there are now several ships available for each cargo.
"I think the balance is still in the charterers' favor," a shipbroker said. "There are six or seven good ships available for prompt loading dates. Rates will usually go down if there are more than two or three good ships in position."
The resultant decline in freight has caused caused FOB values for Mediterranean and Black Sea crudes to fall to multi-month highs.
Mid-way through last week, both Aframax and Suezmax FOB CPC Blend cargoes were assessed at their highest levels relative to the Mediterranean Dated Strip since mid-December. CPC Blend loads out of a terminal near Novorossiisk in the Black Sea.
FOB Novorossiisk Urals cargoes hit a month-and-a-half high of minus $1.695/b versus the Mediterranean Dated Strip on Monday.
