Most bunker prices in East of Suez ports continue to rise for a second day, tracking higher Brent values.
Changes on the day to 16.00 SGT (08.00 GMT) today:
- VLSFO prices up in Zhoushan ($3/mt), steady in Singapore, and down in Fujairah ($5/mt)
- LSMGO prices up in Zhoushan ($4/mt), steady in Fujairah, and down in Singapore ($2/mt)
- HSFO380 prices up in Fujairah ($5/mt), Singapore and Zhoushan ($3/mt)
Singapore’s VLSFO price maintained its levels from yesterday, while Zhoushan’s saw a small increase bringing the two ports to parity. At the same time, Fujairah’s VLSFO inched down to a $6/mt discount to the other ports.
HSFO380 prices have recorded gains across the three ports, moving up with Brent as three-quarters of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico remains shut in.
Lead times remain tight for HSFO380 stems across East of Suez ports. Both Singapore and Fujairah need up to eight days for the high sulphur fuel. Two out of five suppliers in Zhoushan that stock HSFO380 continue to have limited availability.
Brent
Front-month ICE Brent has recouped losses from the previous session by rising $0.57/bbl on the day, to $72.52/bbl at 16.00 SGT (08.00 GMT).
Brent has seen some support from tighter US supplies. 77% of offshore oil production capacity remains shut in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Ida, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement estimates. More and more platforms and rigs have come back to operation, but 13% of platforms and 36% of rigs remain unmanned after they were evacuated in the lead-up to Ida.
“… last night’s price increases have merely returned Brent and WTI back to roughly unchanged for the week. That suggests that the street is divided in the near-term direction, as disrupted Gulf of Mexico production is offset by global recovery nerves,” OANDA market analyst Ed Moya said.
US crude inventories decreased by a lower-than-expected 2.9 million bbls in the week to 3 September, according to American Petroleum Institute (API) figures and a poll of analysts cited by Reuters.
Official US data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) is set to be published today at 15.00 GMT.
The EIA said yesterday it expects crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico will come back online through September, and average 1.2 million b/d over the month. Production will normalise at 1.7 million b/d in the fourth quarter, the energy statistical agency predicts.