WTI Supply Squeeze Deepens as Tanker Rates Top $1M a Day

Tanker rates for crude picked up inside the Persian Gulf have smashed through $1 million a day for the first time on record, adding steep logistics costs to every barrel of WTI-linked physical crude still moving near the Strait of Hormuz.

Kazakhstan, often floated as a swing producer capable of offsetting shortfalls, cannot meaningfully expand output due to export constraints, leaving little slack to cushion WTI against the combined loss of Saudi and Hormuz-routed barrels.

For traders, the widening freight premium and thinning spare capacity suggest WTI's risk skew stays tilted higher until vessel availability and Middle East export routes stabilize.