East of Suez bunker fuel prices are mixed amid a slight drop for Brent crude, and bunkering has resumed in South Korea.
Changes on the day to 16.00 SGT (08.00 GMT) today:
- VLSFO prices up in Fujairah ($3/mt), steady in Zhoushan, and down and Singapore ($5/mt)
- LSMGO prices up in Zhoushan ($3/mt), and down in Fujairah ($9/mt) and Singapore ($4/mt)
- HSFO380 prices up in Fujairah ($1/mt), and down in Singapore ($11/mt)
Bunker suppliers have started supplying stems again in South Korea after operations were suspended or partially suspended across ports amid to bad weather from 10 November.
Bunkering availability remains tight in Korean ports owing to backlogs, according to a source. VLSFO availability is tight, and requires around 7-10 days of lead time in the country’s southern ports because of shortage of blend stocks, the source added.
VLSFO lead times of up to 11 days are advised in Singapore, and six days in Fujairah. In Zhoushan, a supplier is expected to receive a VLSFO to replenish stocks by 18 November, a source said.
LSMGO is tight in Zhoushan after the recent bad weather, with earliest supplies in December, according to a source. In Fujairah, availability is tight until 17 November. LSMGO in Singapore has normal lead times of up to seven days.
HSFO380 availability in Singapore remains subject to availability. A supplier in Zhoushan has HSFO380 reserves after replenishing last week.
Brent
Front-month ICE Brent has shed $0.49/bbl in the past day, to $82.26/bbl at 16.00 SGT (08.00 GMT).
Brent is heading for a slight 0.50% drop on the week, with downward pressure coming from a US crude oil stock build, a stronger US dollar and a trimmed global oil demand forecast from OPEC.
US crude inventories rose to three-month highs of 435.10 million bbls on 5 November and sent crude values trading down after the weekly Energy Information Administration (EIA) report was released on Wednesday.
US inflation rose by 6.2% on the year in October – the biggest year-on-year jump since 1990. Inflationary pressure has triggered bets on an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve and propped up the US dollar against other currencies – which makes Brent less attractive to investors.
“The US dollar is broadly stronger as the market has repriced Fed rate expectations for next year higher,” Saxo Bank said in a note today.
OPEC revised its global oil demand forecast for the year down, citing lower-than-anticipated demand from India and China. OPEC and its allies, known as the OPEC+ group, will increase supply by 400,000 b/d in December, as it has done in each month since August.
The White House has repeatedly come out to say more OPEC+ output is needed to meet global demand and tame domestic US inflation, which it views as partially induced by the recent oil price rally. President Biden has considered releasing emergency crude from its strategic reserves to cool prices.