Bunker prices have taken mixed direction across Europe and Africa in the past day, and VLSFO has been resupplied in Scandinavia to ease price pressure.
Changes on the day to 08.00 GMT today:
- VLSFO prices up in Durban ($29/mt), Gibraltar ($12/mt) and Rotterdam ($7/mt)
- LSMGO prices up in Gibraltar ($6/mt), and down in Rotterdam ($17/mt)
- HSFO prices up in Rotterdam ($7/mt), and down in Gibraltar ($10/mt)
VLSFO availability has improved off Skaw and in Gothenburg today after having tightened in recent days. Suppliers were running low on product at the beginning of the week, pushing prices to $29-30/mt premiums over Rotterdam yesterday.
With VLSFO now more readily available, Skaw and Gothenburg’s prices have come down in the past day, and run counter to a $1/bbl gain for ICE Brent crude. They have also more than halved their premiums over Rotterdam, to $13/mt.
There are no major delays or congestion in the Gibraltar Strait this morning, but the ports brace for strong winds and swells from Wednesday, port agent MH Bland says. Gale-force winds and waves pushing 4 metres are forecast on Friday and could disrupt bunkering.
Malta and the Canary Islands have calm weather conditions forecast for most of the week, with the notable exception of some swells in Las Palmas tomorrow, and could present viable alternatives with similar pricing for VLSFO as in the Gibraltar Strait ports.
Durban’s VLSFO price has jumped in the past day, narrowing its discount to Port Elizabeth from over $30/mt last week to $16/mt now.
Durban’s LSMGO discount to Port Elizabeth has not narrowed and remains at more than $60/mt.
Brent
Front-month ICE Brent crude has gained $1.03/bbl on the day, to $82.74/bbl at 08.00 GMT.
The big question is whether the Biden administration will release emergency crude reserves, amid lower polling numbers and mounting pressure from Democrats to ease fuel prices for American consumers.
Vitol’s chief executive Russel Hardy said such a move would “not change things fundamentally”. The market is expected to be tight going into next year, he told the APIDEC conference in Abu Dhabi yesterday, according to S&P Global Platts.
Trafigura’s chief executive Jeremy Weir echoed Hardy’s verdict of a tight market today, saying the recovery to pre-pandemic oil demand has outpaced the past few months’ incremental OPEC+ output increases, Reuters reports.
It is “very possible” Brent could hit $100/bbl in the longer term, Weir added, without saying when.