Bunker prices have come down with Brent across East of Suez ports, and Singapore’s VLSFO price has moved to wider premiums over regional bunkering hubs.
Changes on the day to 16.00 SGT (08.00 GMT) today:
VLSFO prices down in Zhoushan ($11/mt), Fujairah ($9/mt) and Singapore ($8/mt)
LSMGO prices down in Singapore ($13/mt), Fujairah ($8/mt) and Zhoushan ($4/mt)
HSFO380 prices down in Singapore ($6/mt), Fujairah ($5/mt) and Zhoushan ($3/mt)
Zhoushan and Fujairah have widened their VLSFO price discounts to Singapore by $1-3/mt, which has brought Zhoushan $6/mt below Singapore, and Fujairah $10/mt below Singapore.
VLSFO is tight for prompt dates in Singapore, with 7-8 days of lead time recommended. That is similar to Fujairah, and about twice as long as the advised lead times in Zhoushan.
HSFO380 and LSMGO remain significantly lower priced in Singapore than in the two other hubs.
Hong Kong has also been pricing VLSFO more competitively against Singapore amid low demand recently, and its price has now dipped $3/mt below Singapore’s.
South Korea’s southern ports have seen their VLSFO prices come sharply down against regional ports. Ample supplies are keeping a lid on South Korean price gains. There is more product around now following a period of higher domestic refinery production.
VLSFO prices in Ulsan, Busan, Samcheon Po and Yeosu have swung to narrow discounts to Far East Russian ports like Vostochny, Nakhodka and Kozmino, which are typically the lowest in the region and among the lowest in the world.
Brent
ICE Brent October has slid $1.39/bbl on the day from Friday, to $74.49/bbl at 16.00 SGT (08.00 GMT).
Brent has retreated from the six-week highs it reached at the end of last week. Chinese data, showing manufacturing activity at 15-month lows in July, has weighed on the futures contract. The manufacturing sector is a massive consumer of fuels in the world’s second biggest oil-consuming country.
Rising Covid-19 cases in the US, China and several other large Asian countries has also put downward pressure on Brent. These countries’ fuel demand recoveries are up against the now-dominant and more transmissible Delta variant, which poses a particularly high threat in areas with lower vaccination coverage.