Bunker prices have been rangebound in the Americas as Brent steadies after two days of sharp gains.
Changes on the day to 08.30 CST (14.30 GMT) today:
- VLSFO prices up in New York ($12/mt), Houston ($8/mt) and Balboa ($6/mt), steady in Los Angeles, and down in Zona Comun ($1/mt)
- LSMGO prices up in Houston ($2/mt), steady in New York, and down in Zona Comun ($11/mt), Balboa ($3/mt) and Los Angeles ($2/mt)
- HSFO380 prices up in Houston and Balboa ($5/mt), steady in Los Angeles, and down in New York ($5/mt)
New Orleans’ LSMGO grade has dropped to bigger discounts to other US Gulf Coast ports after a lower-priced non-prompt stem weighed on the port’s benchmark.
Its price has now dropped $23/mt below Houston’s and $55/mt below Freeport, where higher-priced prompt stems have supported benchmarks.
Supply constraints keep supporting Vancouver’s bunker prices. Its VLSFO premium over Los Angeles has been roughly steady on the day at $86/mt, while its LSMGO premium has narrowed by $15/mt to $50/mt.
Trading is likely to slow towards the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend. US offices will generally be closed today and tomorrow.
Brent
Front-month ICE Brent has been rangebound, only edging $0.15/bbl higher on the day to 08.30 CST (14.30 GMT), when it stood at $82.14/bbl.
Brent has steadied after big gains in the previous session. Following the announcement of a US-led release of strategic oil reserves along with major Asian oil consumers and the UK, the ball is back in OPEC+’s court.
The big question is whether OPEC+ will decide to phase back output by another 400,000 b/d in January, as it has done since August. OPEC+ members will meet on 2 December for monthly talks. An additional meeting of core OPEC members is slotted in for 1 December.
Brent has “settled into a nervous wait-and-see mode with focus on the Dec 2 OPEC+ meeting after its advisory board said the US-led coordinated release of reserves may drive a crude oil surplus early next year,” Saxo Bank says.
US crude oil inventories gained by 1 million bbls in the week to 19 November, while gasoline and distillate stocks were drawn again to multi-year lows, according to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Gasoline and distillate stocks fell despite a further uptick in refinery utilisation, pointing to strong demand ahead of the Thanksgiving weekend.