Bunker prices have mostly moved up with Brent across East of Suez ports in the past day.
Changes on the day to 16.00 SGT (08.00 GMT) today:
- VLSFO prices up in Fujairah ($16/mt), Zhoushan ($10/mt) and Singapore ($3/mt)
- LSMGO prices up in Zhoushan ($24/mt) and Fujairah ($16/mt), and down in Singapore ($34/mt)
- HSFO380 prices up in Singapore ($13/mt), and down in Fujairah ($16/mt)
Singapore’s LSMGO has seen a sharp drop on the day, after being lifted by two higher-priced 0-50 mt stems yesterday.
LSMGO requires up to nine days of lead time in the port, compared to eight days last week. VLSFO availability remains an issue in Singapore as well, with recommended lead times stretching to 11 days.
Fujairah is also facing tight availability, but with shorter lead times compared to Singapore. VLSFO, HSFO380 and LSMGO require around 5-6 days in advance due to a shortage of incoming cargo volumes. Prompter stems are available at a premium.
Zhoushan’s VLSFO price is now at parity with Singapore, after seeing a higher daily increase. Fujairah’s VLSFO is at premiums of $6/mt over both ports.
Brent
Front-month ICE Brent crude has gained $1.03/bbl on the day, to $82.74/bbl at 16.00 SGT (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.