1. Average Suezmax spot earnings eased slightly in December to reach $45,354/day, down 9% m-o-m. However, this is still significantly greater than the average for full year 2014, which stood at $27,791/day. While spot rates were generally slightly weaker m-o-m in December, the average 1 year timecharter rate rose 13% m-o-m to $32,000/day. 2. Average rates on all featured routes ex-WAF softened in December, with the rate on the WAF-USAC route falling 12% m-o-m to WS 87. Meanwhile, the rate on the WAF-Med route dropped 11% m-o-m to WS 88. A flurry of activity was expected towards the start of the month; however, this did not materialise. As a result the tonnage list in the region lengthened, applying downwards pressure to rates. 4. Meanwhile, average rates ex-Europe also declined in December, with the rate on the cross-Med route dropping 11% m-o-m to WS 92. The rate on the Black Sea-Med route fell 5% m-o-m to WS 99, a less sharp decline than on the cross-Med route due to a busy Novorossiysk programme in mid-December. During this period, the firm Aframax market in the Med also supported a modest improvement in cross-Med rates, although this was not sustained during the rest of the month. At the start of January it was expected that the number of unfixed Suezmaxes entering the Mediterranean during the month would fall.
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