Oil markets are flashing signs of renewed strength amid tightening supplies, while record heat around the world is impacting everything from crops and energy prices to the availability of water. Here are five charts to consider in global commodity markets this week. Oil After OPEC+ kingpins Saudi Arabia and Russia pledged measures to limit oil flows into August, traders will be looking for signs buyers are snapping up barrels this week.
Shipping Rates for smaller oil tankers known as Aframaxes are trading at a narrower premium to those for Very Large Crude Carriers — or VLCCs — as demand for Russia’s crude wanes. More Aframax ships than VLCCs joined the dark fleet to carry Russian crude after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, leaving fewer of these vessels available for the rest of the world and pushing up freight rates. Now, both Saudi Arabia and Russia have pledged to extend crude supply cuts into August.