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Middle Eastern crude shipments to the US rise in August
Kpler data show at least 9 million barrels from the region are due at US ports through August, with Kuwait cargoes returning after a six-year gap.
A wave of Middle Eastern crude is arriving in the United States in August, a turnaround that could ease pressure on physical oil markets as US commercial inventories sit near an eight-year low, according to LiveMint Markets citing Kpler data.
At least 9 million barrels from the region are scheduled to reach US ports during the month, although the level remains only about half of pre-conflict averages. The influx includes barrels released after a brief US-Iran ceasefire agreement in June, when supplies could move through the Strait of Hormuz for several weeks.
The shipments also reflect so-called shuttle-trade activity that kept Middle Eastern exports flowing through the energy chokepoint even as it remained largely blocked. The US had previously exported at a breakneck pace to offset disrupted flows, sending out a record 6 million barrels a day in the early months of the Iran conflict, the article says.
The reversal is evident in Saudi flows, with US imports from Saudi Arabia dropping to zero last month for the first time since 1985, the report adds. It also highlights Kuwait cargoes arriving on US shores for the first time in six years, and notes some deliveries are routed via the Mediterranean to reduce exposure to attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
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