Record Oil Shipping Costs as Middle East Conflict Escalates

The cost of shipping oil in large tankers has hit record highs due to recent attacks on shipping by Iran and the US. According to Baltic Exchange data, the rate for supertankers loading oil from the Gulf of Oman for shipment to China reached around 450 on a Worldscale basis, equaling roughly $11.50 per barrel.

This is the highest since the rate was launched earlier this year, after the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran. The spike in rates shows how the Middle East conflict is feeding into the broader economy and could add to inflationary pressures if it persists.

Ioannis Papadimitriou, an analyst at Vortexa, said that 'renewed attacks between the U.S. Navy and Iran continue to push freight rates around the Gulf to new highs.'