Bunker prices have dipped from yearly highs in several major bunkering locations across the Americas, and strong wind has delayed some bunker deliveries in Zona Comun.
Changes on the day to 09.30 CST (14.30 GMT) today:
- VLSFO prices up in Balboa ($13/mt), and down in Zona Comun ($10/mt), Houston ($7/mt), Los Angeles ($5/mt) and New York ($2/mt)
- LSMGO prices up in Balboa ($20/mt), steady in Zona Comun, and down in Houston ($16/mt), Los Angeles ($7/mt) and New York ($2/mt)
- HSFO380 prices down in New York ($4/mt), Los Angeles and Balboa ($3/mt) and Houston ($2/mt)
Bunker deliveries have been delayed by strong winds in Zona Comun. Bunker barges have cast anchor to wait for windows of calmer weather to supply. Weather conditions are forecast to improve later today, but high winds are expected again from tomorrow evening.
Zona Comun’s VLSFO price has dropped $10/mt on the day and widened its discounts to Rio Grande and Paranagua by $1-3/mt to $9-11/mt.
Balboa’s VLSFO and LSMGO prices have bounced back up again, bringing them to $20/mt and $30/mt premiums over Houston, where prices dropped with Brent.
Most suppliers can deliver prompt stems of the two grades in Balboa and Cristobal. One supplier has a full schedule in Cristobal for the next week, but has availability in Balboa. Another supplier has no availability whatsoever.
Brent
Front-month ICE Brent has slipped $0.50/bbl lower on the day, to $79.25/bbl at 09.30 CST (14.30 GMT) today.
After trading at three-year highs for much of the day, Brent’s rally has run out of steam amid news of crippling power cuts and rationing in China.
China has run out of coal to feed its power plants, triggering power outages for factories and millions of homes. Goldman Sachs estimates that almost half of China’s industrial activity has been affected by the power crunch, several media outlets report. The investment bank trimmed its GDP growth forecast for China for this year by 0.4% to 7.8%.
Brent had been rallying for six days with support from tighter global crude supplies and a continuous recovery from Covid-19.
Goldman Sachs forecasts Brent will gain another $10/bbl to reach $90/bbl by the end of the year, Reuters reports.
Global crude stocks are being drawn down at a faster pace than previously anticipated, partly because of lingering production outages in the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Ida struck, coupled with a lack of US shale oil ramp-up to fill the gaps, the bank said.
The lost supply in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida has exceeded the 400,000 b/d monthly output increases from OPEC+ since July. Global demand has bounced back from Covid-induced restrictions faster than expected. The supply-demand balance has increasingly tilted towards undersupply and accelerated stock draws in support of oil prices, Goldman Sachs said according to Reuters.