We discussed back in early May how Saudi Arabian crude export loadings in April had dropped materially. Given the journey time to US shores (hark, seven-ish weeks), the expectation was that we would start to see lower volumes reflected in the June data. And sure enough, as we prepare to exit June stage right, arrivals are on the decline. Imports of Saudi barrels into the U.S. so far this month have dropped below one million barrels per day for the first time since last November. Although U.S. imports of Saudi crude are still averaging higher than year-ago levels so far this year (to yesterday), this is in part due to strong arrivals in the first few months of the year (and particularly January, at nearly 1.4 million barrels per day – wowzers) – offsetting recent weakness. While March-May arrivals have stayed neck-and-neck with year-ago levels, June volumes are finally […]