Bunker prices have mixed direction in key Americas ports, as Brent has recovered to just above $69/bbl after tumbling yesterday.
Changes on the day to 09.30 CST (14.30 GMT) today:
- VLSFO prices up in New York ($15/mt) and Balboa ($1/mt), and down in Los Angeles ($6/mt), Zona Comun ($5/mt) and Houston ($3/mt)
- LSMGO prices up in Zona Comun ($28/mt), Balboa ($10/mt) and New York ($8/mt), steady in Los Angeles, and down in Houston ($6/mt)
- HSFO380 prices up in Los Angeles ($12/mt), New York and Balboa ($5/mt), and down in Houston ($4/mt)
After slumping in the previous session, New York’s VLSFO price has made a considerable gain amid a wide spread in offer prices, and its price has recovered nearly half of the $34/mt loss it made in the previous session.
Los Angeles’ HSFO380 price has gained in contrast to a fall for the port’s VLSFO, to narrow its Hi5 spread by $18/mt to $81/mt. The spread is significantly smaller than in other ports in the Americas such as Houston, New York and Balboa, which are all above $100/mt.
Zona Comun’s LSMGO price has jumped with support from a higher-priced stem.
Lower-priced stems for VLSFO have weighed on Zona Comun’s VLSFO price, which has held at near parity to prices in Paranagua and Rio Grande. Santos continues to price VLSFO at considerable discounts of around $30/mt to these three locations.
Brent
Front-month ICE Brent crude has moved down by $0.46/bbl on the day to 09.30 CST (14.30 GMT), when it stood at $69.11/bbl.
Brent has recovered some today following a steep drop yesterday. The combination of an OPEC+ deal that will mean more crude output, and renewed concerns about rising Covid-19 cases from the more infectious Delta variant in parts of Europe and Asia, sent Brent tumbling to two-month lows yesterday.
OPEC+ negotiations ended with a compromise that will see output rise by 2 million b/d from August to December this year, and update the baseline production quotas of five OPEC+ members from May next year.
Some analysts believe the recent price drop for Brent to be short-lived and that the OPEC+ deal has staved off further disunity in the group, which could otherwise have resulted in the supply management pact dissolving into a battle for market share.
“Although the intention to increase production is a short-term negative for oil prices, particularly as it coincides with growth fears sweeping markets this week, in the longer run, the ability of OPEC+ once again to overcome their difference is a positive for prices,” OANDA analyst Jeffrey Halley said.
Pessimism over the rapid spread of the Delta variant, especially in populous countries with low vaccination rates such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Thailand, has clouded the economic outlook and driven down oil prices in the past day. Spiking cases in Europe has prompted some restrictions on movement to be reimposed in Portugal, Netherlands and parts of Spain.
“Rising cases of the delta variant of the coronavirus in some Asian and European countries and possibilities of travel restrictions have increased crude oil demand uncertainty to some extent,” ING analysts Warren Patterson and Wenyu Yao said in a note.