A top Wall Street analyst has questioned why investors were dumping tanker shipping stocks amid a wider drop in the market after Donald Trump’s latest tariff spat with China.
New York-listed Teekay Tankers was sold off heavily yesterday as news about Trump’s latest change on $300bn worth of Chinese goods hit the headlines.
The geopolitical issues overpowered a positive quarterly performance from the shipowner, which was joined by peers including Ardmore Shipping, Frontline and Euronav in seeing its stock fall.
“Starting with the macro 'news, it is important to note that crude oil is not on China’s current tariff list, and yet, as good national citizens, Chinese refineries/importers are still not buying any US oil,” said Evercore ISI analyst Jon Chappell.'
“So to be clear, ratcheting up the tariff rhetoric should have no direct incremental impact on tanker demand or our market thesis, other than potentially hurting the two largest global economies.”
The shockwave started by the latest development in the trade war has spread into today, with stock markets, currency markets and the oil price all impacted.
