Bunker prices have been roughly steady for most fuel grades in major Americas ports, and Balboa’s fuel oil prices remain elevated amid tight supply.

 

Changes on the day to 08.30 CST (14.30 GMT) today:

· VLSFO prices up in New York ($5/mt), steady in Houston, and down in Los Angeles ($3/mt), Balboa ($2/mt) and Zona Comun ($1/mt)

· LSMGO prices up in Houston ($13/mt), Zona Comun ($6/mt) and Balboa ($2/mt), and down in Los Angeles ($4/mt) and New York ($2/mt)

· HSFO prices up in Houston ($17/mt) and Balboa ($12/mt)

 

Balboa’s VLSFO price has dipped slightly while Houston’s has held steady in the past day, narrowing the Panamanian port’s price to a $15/mt premium over Houston. Supply continues to be tight across fuel grades in Panama, especially for HSFO380.

 

Panama partly relies on fuel oil imports produced by US refineries, but with US stock levels being drawn down to another all-time low last week, and availability tight across US bunker markets, that has left less for export to Panama and other export destinations.

 

A combination of limited bunker fuel oil volumes and tight barge delivery schedules in Panama has meant that suppliers require around 7-9 days of lead time for HSFO380 and VLSFO stems.

 

Balboa has priced HSFO380 around $45-50/mt higher than in Houston and New York in the past two days.

 

Houston Ship Channel reopened for vessel traffic in both directions last night, at which point the queue of vessels waiting to pass outbound had come down to eight, while inbound congestion had built to 45 vessels. The key waterway leads into ports and bunker locations in the Houston area. Pent up vessel traffic in both directions should be allowed to clear with a low risk of fog forecast for the week ahead.

 

Brent

Front-month ICE Brent has dipped $0.78/bbl lower on the day, trading at $88.96/bbl at 08.30 CST (14.30 GMT) today.

 

Brent has seen some downward pressure in the past day, amid comments from Iranian oil minister Javad Owji saying the country is ready to boost oil supply as soon as US sanctions are lifted, and that Iranian supply is needed to cool rallying prices, Iranian news agency Shana reports.

 

The announcement came after OPEC+ stuck to its plan of bringing back 400,000 bbls of output in March, when member states met for monthly talks yesterday. The group hopes to unwind its remaining 2.6 million b/d output cuts by the end of this year, Reuters reports.

 

However, the group is currently running behind its monthly target hikes, as output rose only 210,000 b/d in January compared to December, according to a Reuters survey.

 

Meanwhile, US crude oil inventories fell by 1 million bbls on the week, according to US Energy Information Administration data. The country’s crude oil stocks were down 13% from a year earlier.

 

“US production is also lower on colder weather and that might continue as Texas braces for an Arctic blast,” says OANDA analyst Ed Moya.