Bunker prices have mostly moved against Brent’s rise, while Zona Comun and Houston’s prices have gained with Brent values.
Changes on the day to 08.30 CST (14.30 GMT) today:
- VLSFO prices up in Zona Comun ($37/mt) and Houston ($6/mt), and down in Los Angeles ($30/mt), Balboa ($12/mt) and New York ($4/mt)
- LSMGO prices up in Zona Comun ($36/mt) and Houston ($19/mt), and down in New York and Balboa ($14/mt) and Los Angeles ($5/mt)
- HSFO380 prices steady in Los Angeles and Balboa, and down in Houston ($6/mt) and New York ($5/mt)
Strong winds have delayed bunkering at the Zona Comun anchorage today. Several vessels are lined up to bunker VLSFO and LSMGO. Bunker barges are waiting out the rough weather to resume deliveries. A period of calmer weather is forecast this afternoon, and from tomorrow until the weekend.
Higher-priced VLSFO and LSMGO stems have helped push Zona Comun’s benchmark prices to wider premiums of $27-30/mt over the Brazilian ports of Rio Grande and Paranagua further up the coast.
Lower-priced VLSFO and LSMGO stems have weighed on Balboa’s benchmarks for the two grades. Balboa’s VLSFO benchmark has dropped to a $16/mt discount to Houston, where the price has been gaining since Friday.
Panama supplied a total of 414,000 mt of bunker fuels last month, according to preliminary figures from the Panama Maritime Authority. That was a seven-month high and 7% more than in September.
Brent
Front-month ICE Brent crude has come up by $0.93/bbl in the past day, to $82.02/bbl at 08.30 CST (14.30 GMT).
The International Energy Agency (IEA) came out with a monthly report today, estimating global supply will rise by 1.5 million b/d over November and December.
The US alone will account for 400,000 b/d of that, while OPEC+ members Saudi Arabia and Russia will together have pumped 330,000 b/d more, the IEA found.
The energy watchdog says satellite measures of oil stock level changes in October suggests a slight stock build. Global stock levels were supported by a 1.4 million b/d monthly output rise from September, mostly driven by recovering US production after Hurricane Ida.
OPEC secretary general Mohammad Barkindo took the IEA’s forecast as further evidence of the global supply-demand balance shifting, Reuters reports. He estimates the balance will tilt into a surplus next month and doubled down on a cautious approach with OPEC+ supply restraint.