Bunker prices are down with Brent in Europe and African ports, and Gibraltar holds at parity with price levels in Rotterdam.
Changes on the day to 08.00 GMT today:
- VLSFO prices up in Durban ($12/mt), Rotterdam ($7/mt) and Gibraltar ($6/mt)
- LSMGO prices up in Rotterdam ($11/mt), Durban ($10/mt) and Gibraltar ($9/mt)
- HSFO prices up in Rotterdam ($7/mt) and Gibraltar ($6/mt)
VLSFO prices remain at parity between Rotterdam and Gibraltar, as they have in recent days. Price offers can vary greatly between suppliers in the Gibraltar Strait, with some at the lower end pulling down the average.
Skaw and Gothenburg have also been pricing VLSFO at competitive levels to ARA recently, and their levels have now dropped $8/mt below that in Rotterdam.
Durban’s VLSFO price has come further down against prices in other South African ports, including a discount of $23/mt to Port Elizabeth.
Brent
Front-month ICE Brent has recovered some of its losses in the previous session by rising $1.27/bbl on the day, to $71.63/bbl at 08.00 GMT today.
The futures contract is heading for a 5% drop on the week – the biggest weekly decline since March.
Renewed and extended lockdown measures in China and Japan have concerned investors and triggered a gradual selloff this week. New daily Covid-19 cases in in China rose to their highest point since January. Major Chinese cities across 17 provinces have been placed in isolation to curb the spread. Flights and other modes of transport have been restricted, capping fuel demand in the world’s biggest oil importing country.
While new daily cases surged to six-week highs of more than 150,000 this week in the US, new lockdowns are unlikely, the country’s top immunologist Anthony Fauci said.
Escalating tensions in the Middle East has lent some support to Brent in the past day. Israeli fighter jets fired at Lebanese rocket launch sites yesterday in retaliation to previous Lebanese rockets.
An oil tanker was attacked off the coast of Oman a week earlier, killing two people, and prompting Israel, the US and UK to point fingers at Iran. Israel said it has not ruled out a strike on Iran, which could further derail US-Iranian nuclear talks.