East of Suez bunker prices have extended yesterday’s gain as Brent rises by more than $2/bbl on the day.
Changes on the day to 16.00 SGT (08.00 GMT) today:
- VLSFO prices up in Fujairah ($17/mt), Zhoushan ($13/mt) and Singapore ($11/mt)
- LSMGO prices up in Fujairah ($26/mt), Singapore ($8/mt) and Singapore ($10/mt)
- HSFO380 prices up in Singapore and Fujairah ($13/mt)
Bunker operations have been suspended since yesterday in Zhoushan and Ningbo, as typhoon In-Fa approaches and has pushed strong winds and high swells ahead of it. The eye of the typhoon is expected to make landfall in eastern China on Sunday 25 July, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau.
Port operations in Zhoushan, Ningbo, Shanghai and other ports on the east coast face disruptions until 28 July, sources say.
Zhoushan’s VLSFO continues to be similarly priced with Singapore, where VLSFO stems require up to nine days of lead time in the bunkering hub. Fujairah’s VLSFO stands at a $3/mt discount to both ports.
The UAE bunkering hub requires up to six days ahead for low sulphur fuel stems, while HSFO380 stems need double that, at 12 days of lead time.
Brent
ICE September Brent has bounced back and gained $2.37/bbl on the day, to $72.05/bbl at 16.00 SGT (08.00 GMT).
US crude stocks rose to end an eight-week draw last week, Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed. The stocks grew amid a big drop in exports and higher imports.
The country’s gasoline inventories held broadly steady while those for distillates were drawn. Refinery production of the two fuel products dipped on the week in a sign of slightly weaker demand.
Brent defied the crude stock build and continued to rally after the data was published yesterday.
“I must admit that the rally caught me completely flat-footed, especially its scale. Notably, there were no surprises within the distillate or gasoline indexes to support the jump in prices either. I can only surmise that with risk sentiment climbing in New York anyway elsewhere, that some gold old-fashioned FOMO fast-money drove the rally,” OANDA market analyst Jeffrey Halley said today.
Goldman Sachs revised its Brent forecast for the third quarter down by $5/bbl to $75/bbl this week, citing a dent to demand from the spread of the Delta coronavirus variant. The global demand recovery is still set to outpace the comeback of OPEC+ and US shale barrels into the market, even if hospitalisation rates rise, the bank said according to Reuters.