Bunker fuel oil prices are rangebound and have mostly inched down in major ports in the Americas, while prices in New York and Zona Comun have seen sharper losses.
Changes on the day to 09.30 CST (14.30 GMT) today:
- VLSFO prices down in Zona Comun ($13/mt), New York ($11/mt), Houston and Balboa ($3/mt) and Los Angeles ($1/mt)
- LSMGO prices up in Los Angeles ($1/mt), and down in Zona Comun ($20/mt), New York and Balboa ($6/mt) and Houston ($1/mt)
- HSFO380 prices up in Houston ($1/mt), and down in New York ($14/mt), Balboa ($5/mt) and Los Angeles ($3/mt)
New York’s bunker fuel oil prices have dropped against other ports. A significant drop for VLSFO has widened its discount to Philadelphia to $20/mt. The price of LSMGO has held up better in New York amid support from a 150-500 mt stem.
Zona Comun’s VLSFO price is down by $13/mt, but price drops have been steeper in Brazilian ports, to widen Zona Comun’s premiums over Paranagua and Rio Grande to $6-7/mt. Santos has the grade nearly $40/mt lower than Zona Comun.
Balboa’s HSFO380 price has dipped $4/mt below that in Houston, where the grade is in tight supply.
Brent
Front-month ICE Brent has come up by $0.46/bbl on the day to 09.30 CST (14.30 GMT), when it stood at $74.16/bbl.
The futures contract has come under pressure from concerns over the spread of the Delta coronavirus variant, as well as from crippling floods in China, but continues to find support in a tighter global supply-demand balance.
Global oil supplies are set to tighten, with economic activity and fuel demand growth expected to outpace the phase-back of OPEC+ oil in the market in the coming months, Barclays and Goldman Sachs said last week.
The supply deficit could spur more US shale producers to drill more. The US rig count reached 387 last week, its highest number since April 2020, Baker Hughes data reported by Reuters showed.
The flare-up in Covid-19 cases has extended to a range of countries including China. Several European countries such as Malta and Germany have tightened restrictions for travellers from other countries as protective measures against the more transmissible Delta variant. Vaccination rates are uneven across the continent, leaving some populations more at risk.
Typhoon In-Fa has washed over eastern China yesterday and today, suspending trains and flights. Hundreds of thousands of people have been relocated in Zhoushan, Shanghai and other cities.