"Shifting Shipping Routes: Implications for European Crude Purchases and Inflation"
More crude tankers are diverting from the Suez Canal due to Houthi rebel attacks, leading to longer voyages and supply issues for Europe. This "sea change" in commodity purchases is expected to increase energy prices for Europe and benefit Atlantic Basin crude suppliers like the U.S. and Brazil. The longer transits are causing delays and squeezing tanker availability, leading to increased freight rates. European countries are seen as complicit in the Israel-Hamas war, prompting European oil owners to opt for longer routes around Africa's Cape of Good Hope. This shift is expected to be a prolonged, painful event but a boost for the U.S. and Brazilian energy industry.