ENGINE: Americas Market Update
Most bunker prices have come up with Brent in the Americas, while New York’s prices have run counter to broader market movements by dropping since Friday.
Changes on the day to 09.30 CST (14.30 GMT) today:
- VLSFO prices up in Zona Comun ($12/mt), Balboa ($8/mt), Houston ($5/mt) and Los Angeles ($3/mt), and down in New York ($6/mt)
- LSMGO prices up in Zona Comun ($13/mt), Balboa ($10/mt), Houston ($4/mt) and Los Angeles ($3/mt), and down in New York ($9/mt)
- HSFO380 prices up in Los Angeles ($12/mt) and Houston ($6/mt), and down in Balboa ($8/mt) and New York ($3/mt)
A bunker barge that has been operating at the Galveston Fairway Anchorage is back in dry dock, limiting LSMGO supply in the area. The barge does not carry VLSFO or HSFO380.
VLSFO remains tight for prompt deliveries in New York, where it is priced $11/mt higher than in Houston. New York’s price premium has halved from Friday, however.
LSMGO, which is more readily available in both New York and Houston, is also priced at parity between them after New York’s price dropped and Houston’s rose.
Los Angeles’ HSFO380 price has jumped to narrow its discount to Vancouver by $7/mt to $10/mt. The grade is in tight supply in both ports.
Brent
The ICE Brent September futures contract has climbed $0.50/bbl higher from Friday, to $76.17/bbl at 09.30 CST (14.30 GMT) today.
OPEC+ output negotiations set for today were called off after Saudi Arabia and the UAE failed to resolve their differences.
The group’s monthly output meeting ended without a deal last week, when the UAE pushed for its production baseline to be increased. It claims to have more capacity to produce crude now than when its baseline level was set in October 2018.
No new meeting date has been set, and without a deal there will be no output increase from August, Reuters cited OPEC+ sources saying today.
Brent shot up to nearly $77/bbl shortly after the news broke.
Saudi oil minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told Al Arabyia News on Sunday that Saudi Arabia has sacrificed its output the most to strengthen the oil price during the pandemic and that its production plan has support from Russia. He called for unanimity between OPEC+ member states.
All members of the block except the UAE voted to phase back 2 million b/d of production cuts from August to the end of the year in monthly increments of 400,000 b/d.