Americas bunker prices have mostly followed hard on the heels of Brent’s decline since Friday, while Houston and Zona Comun have seen some upward movement against regional ports.
Changes on the day from Friday, to 08.30 CST (14.30 GMT) today:
- VLSFO prices up in Zona Comun ($15/mt), Houston ($6/mt) and Balboa ($1/mt), and down in Los Angeles ($23/mt) and New York ($18/mt)
- LSMGO prices down in Los Angeles ($8/mt), Zona Comun ($7/mt), New York ($5/mt), Houston ($4/mt) and Balboa ($1/mt)
- HSFO380 prices up in Balboa ($16/mt), and down in Houston ($24/mt), Los Angeles ($19/mt) and New York ($18/mt)
Houston’s VLSFO price has gained against several other key bunkering ports. Its premium over Balboa has shrunk to just $2/mt, and it has flipped from a narrow discount to a $29/mt premium over New York since last Friday.
A higher-priced VLSFO stem was fixed in Houston earlier today, helping to prop up its benchmark price against Brent’s downward pull.
HSFO380 availability is tight with only two suppliers offering it at the New Orleans Outer Anchorage (NOLA). The grade is offered in a $10/mt range, compared to narrower price ranges of $5/mt for low sulphur grades.
NOLA’s HSFO premiums have gone up to $32/mt over Houston’s, and $46/mt over the price in the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area (GOLA).
Zona Comun’s VLSFO price has jumped and flipped to $3-6/mt premiums over Rio Grande and Paranagua. A supplier’s earliest delivery date is around four days out at the Argentinian anchorage.
Brent
Front-month ICE Brent has fallen for a third straight session, shedding $1.01/bbl on the day from Friday, to $81.09/bbl at 08.30 CST (14.30 GMT).
Soaring US inflation and gasoline prices could trigger a release from US emergency crude reserves and weigh on Brent. US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and 11 other Democrats have called on President Biden to take decisive action amid lower polling numbers and signs that unaffordable fuel prices could hold back the country’s economic recovery, Reuters reports.
Uncertainty about future market direction has brought net long positions on Brent down to yearly lows, Saxo Bank wrote in a note.
Iran-US nuclear talks are set to resume later this month. Prospects for a resolution between the parties, and the eventual possibility of more Iranian crude phased back into the market, will likely lead to more price volatility, according to DailyFX analyst Dimitri Zabelin.
“Expectations seem to be heavily tilted against the likelihood of a breakthrough. If progress is achieved nevertheless, the adjustment to new geopolitical circumstances will probably manifest in larger-than-usual price swings,” Zabelin says.