East of Suez bunker prices are on the rise with Brent for a second day, and HSFO380 remains tight in Fujairah.
Changes on the day to 16.00 SGT (08.00 GMT) today:
- VLSFO prices up in Zhoushan and Singapore ($8/mt), Fujairah ($7/mt)
- LSMGO prices up in Zhoushan and Fujairah ($11/mt), and Singapore ($5/mt)
- HSFO380 prices up in Singapore and Zhoushan ($7/mt), and steady in Fujairah
HSFO380 availability is tight in Fujairah, with lead times of around eight days still required. Low sulphur fuel oils are more readily available in the port.
Fujairah’s total high and low sulphur fuel oil stocks dropped by a further 7% in the week to 20 September, when the measured 6.98 million bbls, according to data from the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ) and S&P Global Platts.
Lead times of all three bunker fuel grades remain unchanged in Singapore. VLSFO and HSFO380 require up to eight days, LSMGO 3-4 days.
Singapore’s Hi5 spread continues to hover around $80/mt as both HSFO380 and VLSFO have seen similar gains on the day.
VLSFO prices have risen by similar amount across Singapore, Fujairah and Zhoushan in the past day, to maintain Zhoushan’s discount of $2-3/mt to the other two.
Brent
Front-month ICE Brent has come up by $1.17/bbl in the past day, to $76.28/bbl at 16.00 SGT (08.00 GMT).
Another big crude stock draw in the US has boosted Brent. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed a 3.48 million-bbl draw yesterday, and was preceded by American Petroleum Institute (API) figures showing a 6.11 million-bbl draw.
US crude inventories are at their lowest in three years, largely as a result of Hurricane Ida disrupting offshore crude production in the Gulf of Mexico. Recovering refineries along the Gulf Coast have also been pulling more crude as they have ramped up run rates to meet robust demand.
The drawdown of US stocks had actually started before Ida struck three weeks ago. Shut in production from the hurricane accelerated the draw.
Oil could see increasing demand if utilities switch away from gas during the colder winter months. Widespread natural gas shortages have sent prices spiralling in Europe and Asia.
Iraq’s oil minister has said the OPEC+ group, which Iraq is a member of, intends to keep the price of crude oil around $70/bbl, Reuters reports. The group made historic supply cuts of around 10 million b/d when Covid-19 crushed demand last year, and has gradually eased the cuts in tandem with recovering global demand.