Bunker prices are rangebound for most fuel grades in major ports across the Americas, as Brent values are steadier after a period of high volatility.
Changes on the day to 09.30 CST (14.30 GMT) today:
- VLSFO prices up in New York ($4/mt), Los Angeles ($2/mt) and Balboa ($1/mt), and down in Houston ($2/mt) and Zona Comun ($1/mt)
- LSMGO prices up in Los Angeles ($6/mt) and New York ($3/mt), and down in Houston ($7/mt), Balboa ($3/mt) and Zona Comun ($2/mt)
- HSFO380 prices up in Los Angeles ($8/mt) and Balboa ($1/mt), and down in New York ($4/mt) and Houston ($2/mt)
Prompt HSFO380 availability has improved in Houston, to ease some upward pressure on its price. Houston’s premium over Balboa has come down by $3/mt on the day, to $22/mt now, and its premium over New York has narrowed by $5/mt to $10/mt.
San Francisco’s HSFO380 price has made some of the biggest gains out of major US ports in the past day, adding $13/mt. The gain has widened its premium over Los Angeles to $16/mt.
Higher-priced stems continue to lend support to VLSFO and LSMGO prices at the Zona Comun anchorage. Its VLSFO price has risen to $14-15/mt premiums over Rio Grande and Paranagua, up from $2-5/mt two days ago.
Certain suppliers have tight availability for prompt dates in Zona Comun, while others can deliver prompt.
Brent
Front-month ICE Brent has slid $0.19/bbl down on the day, to $70.74/bbl at 09.30 CST (14.30 GMT).
Brent traded down yesterday after the weekly Energy Information Administration (EIA) report showed a surprise build in US crude stocks when it was released.
“The official US Crude Inventories delivered the knockout punch as they surprised markets by rising by 3.626 million barrels…Markets completely ignored an equally significant tumble in gasoline stocks of -5.3 million barrels,” OANDA analyst Jeffrey Halley said today.
US gasoline stocks fell 2% on the week in a sign of robust road fuel demand. A 2% drop in gasoline production and increased supply in the Gulf Coast region weighed on the country’s total stocks. East Coast stocks were also heavily drawn.
China has halted travel in and out of several cities and cancelled flights to contain the rapid resurgence of Covid-19 cases in the country. According to Chinese authorities, infection rates had been nearly flat in recent months, until the more transmissible Delta variant started ripping through the country last month. 71 new daily cases were reported across 17 provinces on 3 August – the most since January.
This is far short of the thousands of new cases reported in many other large countries, including the 150,000 new cases in the US on 3 August. But unlike the US, China has imposed mobility restrictions on millions of people. The measures will dent fuel demand from the world’s biggest oil importer, but the extent will depend on how long and how extensive they will be.