Fuel tankers plot routes to steer clear of monster Atlantic storms

Houston

TRADERS are shifting fuel tankers around the world like chess pieces to stay one step ahead of Mother Nature.

One natural disaster is difficult enough to trade around. Last week, traders have been hit with not one, but four, as three hurricanes and an earthquake rattled the western hemisphere. That's upsetting the typical flows of commodities across the globe, with potential arbitrage opportunities opening and closing with each new weather forecast.

"The traders are trying to follow the money, but the hurricanes are getting in the way," said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston. "Traders are reacting to the changing arbitrage and to the weather that is forcing them to change…