SINGAPORE, Sept 4 (Reuters) - On Thursday, only four commodity ships passed through the important Strait of Hormuz. This is a decrease from nine ships the day before and significantly lower than the 10-day average of about 15, according to preliminary shipping data.
The count included two medium-range tankers, a Kamsarmax bulk carrier, and a Handysize vessel, as reported by Kpler data early Friday.
This number does not include ships that may have crossed the strait with their Automatic Identification System transponders turned off for confidentiality.
Oil prices are set to see their largest weekly increase since mid-July as rising tensions and renewed hostilities between the U.S. and Iran raise fears about supply risks in the Middle East. O/R
This week, only two very large crude carriers have crossed the strait, according to Kpler data.
Prior to the onset of the war in Iran on February 28, around 125 large commercial vessels, including tankers, gas carriers, and bulkers, crossed the strait daily, contributing to one-fifth of the world's daily supply of crude oil and liquefied natural gas.
A U.S. blockade aimed at Iranian shipping has halted Iranian crude oil exports since being reinstated in mid-July.
During the conflict, the daily volume of oil and products exiting the region has mostly ranged from 4 million to 6 million barrels per day, with a brief spike towards pre-war levels during a temporary agreement between Iran and the United States, said Rystad Energy's chief economist Claudio Galimberti on Thursday.
“Currently, the United States and Iran have little in common,” he noted at an energy conference in Singapore.
“As a result, we anticipate that shipping flows will remain low until November, as the economic impacts of a sustained disruption continue to be challenging.”
Meanwhile, in the Bab el-Mandeb strait located in the Red Sea, 22 commodity vessels crossed on Thursday. This was down from 31 the previous day and below the 10-day average of 24, according to Kpler data.