Time charter equivalent (TCE) earnings for VLGCs have broken new records a day after the freight figure per tonne hit an all-time high.
At the start of the week, trips from the Middle East Gulf to Chiba in Japan were paying $150 per tonne.
A day later, TCE rates hit new highs on this route and from the US Gulf to Chiba, Avance Gas chief executive Oystein Kalleklev said in a post to the X platform.
Brokers quoted the Middle East run at $140,900 per day, up 79% in a month.
The US voyage was attracting rates of $128,300 per day, up 50% since the same point in August.
TCE figures are impacted by variables including the cost of bunkers, port costs and the speed of ships.
Kalleklev had noted a “bull run” in the market, with the rate going from $92 per tonne to $151.40 per tonne in the last week.
This is a 54% increase, the highest ever recorded in such a short period.
The figure hit $154 per tonne on Tuesday.
Records from 2014 and 2015 beaten
The numbers beat levels last seen in 2014 and 2015, when the market was supported by US exports following the growth in US shale production, according to Clarksons Research managing director Stephen Gordon.
“And this year, markets have again been supported by strong expansion in long-haul US exports, in particular to China, plus some of the Panama Canal delays/disruption,” he added.
Clarksons Research has been forecasting tonne-mile growth for the LPG trade of around 12% this year.
The company said the market is currently “exceptional” amid very firm demand in both major load regions and with support from cargoes out of Australia.
“The near-term outlook remains bullish,” Clarksons Research said.
