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Latest Market News

Two oil product tankers turn away from Hormuz strait

  • Spanish Market: Oil products
  • 05/03/26

Two out of the three Long Range (LR) tankers that were waiting outside the strait of Hormuz, booked to load oil products from the Mideast Gulf, have turned away last night and set off back into the Arabian Sea.

The Clear Stars and the DF Montmartre set off southeast during the night of 4-5 March, Vortexa and Kpler tracking show, and were passing Muscat by dawn. They had both been waiting off Fujairah in the UAE, just outside the strait of Hormuz, since around 1 March. Kpler reports that both were booked to load oil products inside the gulf for journeys to Europe.

This leaves only one LR tanker, the Khairpur, waiting outside the strait with a booking to load oil products this week. Kpler reports it has been booked to load from Kuwait for a journey to Pakistan.

Israel and the US attacked Iran on 28 February and the latter responded by telling ships they were not permitted to use the strait. At least eight commercial ships have been attacked in the waters around the strait in the days since, including one off Kuwait on the night of 4-5 March. Insurers have cancelled war risk cover for ships on concerns that re-insurers will withdraw cover at short notice, paralysing shipping. US president Donald Trump and treasury secretary Scott Bessent have indicated that the US will take steps to restore energy trade, but the details have not yet clarified.

Arguscounts another 22 LR tankers already inside the gulf, either already carrying oil products or booked to load them this week. And there are two other LR tankers further out in the Indian Ocean, with bookings to load clean products in the Mideast Gulf this week.

Oil product prices have rallied extremely rapidly in the opening days of the war. Jet fuel has been most severely impacted, with a closing premium to crude in Europe of more than $70/bl on 3 and 4 March, the highest on Argus record. Intraday swap trading has been extremely volatile, indicating jet fuel premiums of more than $100/bl against crude on 4 March. Europe relies upon Mideast Gulf exports for roughly half of its jet fuel imports, which means around 15-20pc of its overall demand. Europe's next option will be importing from Asia, but prices there have soared at the same time, as well as freight costs. Apart from jet fuel, the products most physically affected by the disruption of gulf exports will be diesel, naphtha and LPG.

By Benedict George

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05/03/26

Explainer: Military-grade jet fuel

Explainer: Military-grade jet fuel

London, 5 March (Argus) — In addition to disrupting flows of crude and refined product out of the Mideast Gulf, the war in the Middle East is also likely to trigger an increase in demand for military specification jet-kerosine, a specialist fuel that is only produced and traded in small volumes. What is military-grade jet fuel? There are two main specifications of military jet fuel, JP-5 and JP-8. The latter is Nato-grade aviation kerosine suitable for ground refuelling, and is similar to commercial grade A and A-1 jet fuel, but with certain additives. JP-5 is for refuelling aboard aircraft carriers, because its higher flashpoint — the temperature at which vapours from the fuel would ignite in air when exposed to flame — makes it safer. Who supplies it? For defence and security reasons, very little military-grade jet fuel is traded or exported. The majority goes to militaries of the countries in which it is produced. Global monthly seaborne trade of both grades combined has in recent years only twice topped 100,000t, according to data from trade analytics platforms Kpler and Vortexa. Only a few refiners export these fuels. In Europe, only Motor Oil Hellas' 180,000 b/d Corinth refinery in Greece and Moeve's 244,000 b/d Algeciras refinery in Spain have loaded JP-5 in the past two years. In Asia, South Korea's GS Caltex and SK Energy have exported JP-5 from South Korea, while Eneos has loaded some from Japan. International trade in JP-8 appears even rarer. The most regular trade has involved US refiner Valero, which loaded cargoes from the US Gulf Coast to Israel almost every other month between May 2023 and September 2025. Moeve has loaded some from Algeciras, as has Korean refiner S-Oil from Ulsan. How do trade flows work for military-grade jet fuel? Destination ports for military jet fuel vary greatly, but Israel is by far the largest importer, mainly from the US Gulf Coast. Just ahead of the start of hostilities over Iran, an Israeli firm issued a buy tender last week for military jet fuel, market participants tell Argus . The US procurement of military jet fuel for its forces worldwide is run by the Defense Logistics Agency's energy division, DLA Energy, in Virginia. In Europe, the US can aso rely on the Nato Support and Procurement Agency and the network of pipelines, including the vast Central Europe Pipeline System (CEPS), it developed in the 1950s to ensure fuel supply to military bases and airports. DLA Energy runs four fuel purchase programs — two cover procurement within the US, a third covers its fuel needs in Europe, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and a fourth its requirements in the western Pacific. Details on specific supply contracts are limited. GS Caltex sells jet to the US military, company sources say, and Eneos also has military fuel contracts. How could increased demand for military jet fuel affect trade flows? Greater demand for military jet fuel could encourage those refiners capable of producing these grades to increase output at the expense of commercial jet fuel, potentially squeezing that market — although reduced civilian air traffic in the Middle East may offset some of those effects. But logistics could be a problem, given the limited supply options and the threats to shipping in and around the Mideast Gulf. Greece's Corinth refinery could be a source of military jet fuel for the US and Israel, as it is only a few days' sailing time across the eastern Mediterranean and has supplied Israel in the past. But such sailings would be well within range of Iranian missiles and drones, which have this week hit the UK's Akrotiri military base in Cyprus. By Amaar Khan and Leon Wheeler Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Mideast Gulf ports resume operations: Update

05/03/26
05/03/26

Mideast Gulf ports resume operations: Update

Adds Saudi ports' situation in final paragraph Dubai, 5 March (Argus) — Operations at several Mideast Gulf ports have resumed following precautionary shutdowns caused by drone-related incidents linked to the US-Iran war, according to port authorities and operators. Cargo operations between Iraqi ports and regional Gulf ports are continuing normally, while operations through or beyond the strait have been suspended for all types of tankers, the Iraqi port authorities said late on 4 March. Tanker traffic came to a near standstill through the strait of Hormuz following the US and Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February and Iran's subsequent retaliatory attacks, effectively closing the strategic waterway and halting Iraq's exports. Around 16 or 17 cargo ships are currently waiting in designated areas at Iraq's Umm Qasr North port and Umm Qasr South port, the authorities said, adding that "port work was continuing and procedures had been streamlined". In the UAE, Abu Dhabi's AD Ports Group said all ports and terminals under its cluster, along with related services, continue to operate normally. The group owns and manages 10 ports and terminals across the country including Fujairah Terminals and Zayed port, which were both recently hit by drone strikes that led to precautionary shutdowns. At the Fujairah port, drone strikes on 3 March prompted storage operators to suspend activities and limit staff access, leaving the port open but largely inactive . "While reduced traffic through the strait of Hormuz is expected to lead to fewer vessel calls at Khalifa port, services there will continue uninterrupted," AD Ports said on 4 March. DP World, which operates Jebel Ali port, confirmed that operations have resumed after debris from a drone interception sparked a small fire at the facility. Operations at Kuwait's Shuaiba port are gradually resuming following a precautionary suspension after debris fell near the facility on 28 February, state news agency Kuna reported. At Oman's Salalah port, cargo terminal operations have resumed after a drone incident affected the port on 3 March, according to a notice seen by Argus . Several drones also targeted Oman's Duqm port , with one striking near a fuel storage facility, but it remains unclear whether operations at the port were affected. In Saudi Arabia all ports are operating normally, according to a shipping agent, although ports on the Mideast Gulf coast are only handling domestic calls. By Rithika Krishna Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Iran war could flip oil market into deficit: IEA

05/03/26
05/03/26

Iran war could flip oil market into deficit: IEA

London, 5 March (Argus) — Prolonged supply disruptions triggered by the US–Iran war could flip the global oil market into a deficit, the IEA said on 5 March. The Paris-based energy watchdog said it is monitoring the situation in the Middle East following the outbreak of war on 28 February, including the implications of any sustained disruption to energy flows through the strategic strait of Hormuz. It said the global oil market has been in a significant surplus since the start of 2025 and that it expected global supply to "far exceed demand in 2026". But it warned that a prolonged disruption to supply in the Mideast Gulf "could flip the market into a deficit". Traffic through the strait of Hormuz remains all but paralysed after Iran told vessels at the start of the week that they were not permitted to transit. At least eight commercial ships have since been attacked in waters around the strait. For context, the IEA said an average of 20mn b/d of crude and oil products transited the strait of Hormuz in 2025 — around 25pc of the world's seaborne oil trade. It noted that its member countries hold more than 1.2bn bl of public emergency oil stocks, with a further 600mn bl of industry stocks held under government obligation, which can be released to the market if needed. But the agency warned that any extended loss of output from Qatar's Ras Laffan facility could significantly exacerbate tightness in the global LNG market. Production was shut down there following an attack on 2 March . Ras Laffan produced 112bn m³ of LNG in 2025, along with 300,000 b/d of LPG and 180,000 b/d of condensate. By Gavin Attridge Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Mideast Gulf ports resume operations after drone strike

05/03/26
05/03/26

Mideast Gulf ports resume operations after drone strike

Dubai, 5 March (Argus) — Operations at several Mideast Gulf ports have resumed following precautionary shutdowns caused by drone-related incidents linked to the US-Iran war, according to port authorities and operators. Cargo operations between Iraqi ports and regional ports beyond the strait of Hormuz are continuing normally, while operations through or beyond the strait have been suspended for all types of tankers, the Iraqi port authorities said late on 4 March. Tanker traffic came to a near standstill through the strait of Hormuz following the US and Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February and Iran's subsequent retaliatory attacks, effectively closing the strategic waterway and halting Iraq's exports. Around 16 or 17 cargo ships are currently waiting in designated areas at Iraq's Umm Qasr North port and Umm Qasr South port, the authorities said, adding that "port work was continuing and procedures had been streamlined". In the UAE, Abu Dhabi's AD Ports Group said all ports and terminals under its cluster, along with related services, continue to operate normally. The group owns and manages 10 ports and terminals across the country including Fujairah Terminals and Zayed port, which were both recently hit by drone strikes that led to precautionary shutdowns. At the Fujairah port, drone strikes on 3 March prompted storage operators to suspend activities and limit staff access, leaving the port open but largely inactive . "While reduced traffic through the strait of Hormuz is expected to lead to fewer vessel calls at Khalifa port, services there will continue uninterrupted," AD Ports said on 4 March. DP World, which operates Jebel Ali port, confirmed that operations have resumed after debris from a drone interception sparked a small fire at the facility. Operations at Kuwait's Shuaiba port are gradually resuming following a precautionary suspension after debris fell near the facility on 28 February, state news agency Kuna reported. At Oman's Salalah port, cargo terminal operations have resumed after a drone incident affected the port on 3 March, according to a notice seen by Argus . Several drones also targeted Oman's Duqm port , with one striking near a fuel storage facility, but it remains unclear whether operations at the port were affected. By Rithika Krishna Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

US court orders refunds on Trump's IEEPA tariffs

04/03/26
04/03/26

US court orders refunds on Trump's IEEPA tariffs

Washington, 4 March (Argus) — A federal court has ordered President Donald Trump's administration to begin processing refunds on tens of billions of dollars in emergency tariffs the US Supreme Court said last month were unlawful. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) must recalculate final duties owed on "any and all" imported goods without including the tariffs that Trump imposed under law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), Richard Eaton, a judge on the US Court of International Trade, wrote in a three-page decision on Wednesday. Eaton, who said he is the only judge on the court hearing IEEPA tariff refund cases, said the Supreme Court's decision that struck down Trump's emergency tariffs should provide across-the-board relief, even to those that had not filed lawsuits. Thousands of companies have already filed lawsuits seeking refunds of the IEEPA tariffs, which collected an estimated $175bn from importers during the nearly one-year period when Trump had them in effect. "All importers of record whose entries were subject to IEEPA duties are entitled to the benefit of the Learning Resources decision," Eaton wrote, referencing the name of the Supreme Court's tariff ruling. The court's order does not explicitly lay out the refund process, but instead applies to customs entries that are "unliquidated" — those that are pending — and those that are liquidated but not yet final. The order, issued as part of a tariff refund lawsuit an air filtration product company filed less than a week ago, suggests that courts intend to move quickly on refunds after the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling finding Trump had no authority to impose his emergency tariffs. Earlier this week, a federal appeals court denied a request by the Trump administration for a months-long delay in court proceedings over tariff refunds, allowing tariff lawsuits to resume in the Court of International Trade. Trump previously said the refund process might take "years" to resolve in court. The Trump administration told Eaton this week it was still considering "next steps" for the Supreme Court opinion, including the mechanics and "scope" of refunds. As of Wednesday, CBP said it had not paid refunds on any of the IEEPA tariffs. In a court filing earlier on Wednesday, the administration conceded that it would have to also pay interest on any tariff refunds it is required to make. The cumulative interest payments on the refunded tariffs could reach $700mn each month, according to calculations the think tank Cato Institute published this week. US senator Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts), in a letter on Wednesday to administration officials, said that the Trump administration's "dithering" on tariff refunds had created an opening for those on Wall Street to offer small companies with immediate cash needs "pennies on the dollars" to purchase their tariff refund rights. Further delaying tariff refunds would result in "more pain" for US companies and their customers, he wrote. By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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