-- Charges paid to use the busiest shipping lanes in the Panama Canal are at record levels as Asian buyers seek alternative oil and gas supplies to Middle Eastern cargoes, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
Bid volumes at auctions for transit lanes now draw five times as many bids as they did before the US-Israel-Iran conflict started at the end of February. Panamax transit costs now average $837,500, the article said, citing data from Argus Media.
Ross Griffith, head of Americas freight pricing at Argus said that the intense bidding reflects Asian buyers' scramble to find not only oil and fuel, but also commodities like coal, from the US Gulf Coast.
Wait times to transit the canal have grown to a six-week high of 4.25 days, researcher Kpler said. As a result, some companies have paid sums up to $4 million in April to use the canal's largest locks.
While most traffic through the canal is booked in advance at set rates, about 30% is available via auction, the article said.
The Panama Canal Authority did not immediately respond to' request for comment.
The FT said experts had noted that abundant US energy supply was behind the increase in traffic and the sharp rise in Asian demand for it.
The article noted that since the start of the war, 29 tankers with cargoes of diesel, LNG and jet fuel switched routes to Asia from Europe, suggesting they had found higher bids there.
(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)