Gibson Shipbrokers believes any recovery in tanker rates this year will be more aligned to improving demand than has previously been the case, due to falling inventories.

Oil prices are back above $60 per barrel, the highest level since January 2020, before the Chinese city of Wuhan went into lockdown at the start of the pandemic.

"In normal times, rising prices typically suggest robust oil demand and growing trade requirements, but of course these are not ordinary times," the shipbroker said in its latest tanker report.