Most bunker prices have responded to Brent’s downward pull by dropping across the Americas, while Houston’s HSFO380 price has surged to regional premiums.
Changes on the day from Friday to 09.30 CST (14.30 GMT) today:
- VLSFO prices up in New York ($6/mt), and down in Los Angeles ($12/mt), Houston ($9/mt), Balboa ($6/mt) and Zona Comun ($1/mt)
- LSMGO prices steady in Balboa, and down in Zona Comun ($14/mt), Los Angeles ($13/mt), Houston and New York ($5/mt)
- HSFO380 prices up in Houston ($24/mt), and down in Balboa ($23/mt), Los Angeles ($8/mt) and New York ($3/mt)
Most of New Orleans’ breakbulk operators resumed operations at the end of last week. One operator is set to resume tomorrow, along with the port’s container operators, the port’s authority informs. It could still take days or weeks before the port’s cargo handling operations normalise.
The Mississippi River has reopened vessel traffic between the Southwest Pass at the southern mouth of the river, and Mile Marker 105 further upriver near New Orleans. But vessels with deep drafts are limited to sail on the river during daylight hours.
At least one bunker supplier can load bunkers from a terminal to deliver stems in the New Orleans area by barge. Another supplier is still unable to load product.
Parts of New Orleans and the wider Louisiana area have been grappling with power outages since Hurricane Ida lashed the state with winds of up to 150 mph a week ago. Some electricity was restored last week, and several refineries and ports were able to access backup generators to power operations, including a terminal near New Orleans to load bunker fuels.
Houston’s HSFO380 price has surged with support from higher price points on Friday and today, flipping it to a $20/mt premium over Balboa, where a lower-priced 150-500 mt stem pulled down its benchmark price.
At least one supplier has tight availability for prompt supply dates in Houston.
HSFO380 remains available for prompt delivery dates in Balboa, while other ports in the region have more limited availability.
The high sulphur grade has run dry in Aruba and Curacao, where the replenishment date has been set to 9 September. Colombia’s Barranquilla is also dry, with no immediate prospects for resupply.
HSFO380 is available in Cartagena with around 7-10 days of lead time advised. St. Eustatius has the grade, but priced around $85/mt higher than in Balboa.
Brent
Front-month ICE Brent crude has shed $0.24/bbl on the day from Friday to 09.30 CST (14.30 GMT) today, when it stood at $72.68/bbl.
Brent is down amid price pressure from Saudi Aramco’s decision to cut some crude prices by more than expected. Saudi Arabia’s state oil producer lowered its selling price to Asia by more than $1/bbl, hinting at weaker demand.
“While a decrease was expected by the market, the cut was larger than anticipated. A combination of increased Saudi output and soft demand in Asia appears to have contributed to the decrease,” ING head of commodities strategy Warren Patterson said today.
Saudi Arabia and the rest of OPEC+ have stuck to its plan of bringing back 400,000 b/d of output to the market per month going forward, despite US calls to pump more.
US job creation undershot analyst predictions in August. 235,000 non-farm payroll jobs were added in August, less than a quarter of the 1.05 million new jobs added in July, US Labor Department data showed on Friday.
On the supply side, 1.61 million b/d of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico remains shut in after Hurricane Ida lashed across the Gulf and into Louisiana a week ago, according to a tally by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.
“The impact of the storm on oil output and flows is clearly more significant than the market was expecting,” ING’s Patterson said.
104 of the 288 oil platforms that were evacuated in preparation for Ida are still unmanned. Five of 11 evacuated rigs are unmanned.