Peter Sand
BIMCOs Shipping number of the week:
Demand for jet fuel in US collapses; down 50% on last year
Half of the usual demand for jet fuel in the US has evaporated as passengers continue to shun air travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic containment measures. The bought amount of jet fuel in the US – a key driver of oil demand – was just 0.94 million barrels per day in the week ending 28 August compared with 1.88 million barrels per day one year ago. The figures indicate that jet fuel will likely be the slowest oil product to recover.
Since the low point in April, the number daily of US flight passengers has climbed to 721,060 on 27 August. Nevertheless, this is still significantly below the 2.6 million passengers that took a flight every day one year ago (-71.8%).
“BIMCO’s shipping number of the week highlights the collapsed demand for jet fuel in the US, which means oil demand is far from recovery on a broad scale,” says BIMCO’s Chief Shipping Analyst, Peter Sand and continues:
“When compared to gasoline, which is down by 7.2% y-o-y, the drop in jet fuel demand is staggering, and it will most probably be the slowest oil product to recover.”
“The better gauge for the overall situation and the impact is has on the global oil tanker business is found in total oil demand, which is down in the US by 16.0% year-on-year by 28 August,” Sand says.
Read more about the oil tanker shipping sector, in BIMCO’s September Shipping Market Outlook,
released earlier this week.
