East of Suez bunker prices are mostly up from Friday’s levels, tracking higher Brent values.
Changes on the day from Friday to 16.00 SGT (08.00 GMT) today:
- VLSFO prices up in Zhoushan ($10/mt) and Fujairah ($7/mt), and down in Singapore ($1/mt)
- LSMGO prices up in Singapore ($6/mt), Singapore and Zhoushan ($3/mt)
- HSFO380 prices up in Fujairah ($5/mt) and Singapore ($1/mt)
Zhoushan’s VLSFO price has risen to an $11/mt premium over Singapore, and widened its premium over Fujairah to $11/mt, as the Chinese port has seen the sharpest gain for the fuel grade today.
Singapore’s bunker market is tighter than Fujairah and Zhoushan. VLSFO stems require up to nine days of lead time in Singapore now, up by two days on the week and requiring similar days ahead with HSFO380 in the bunkering hub.
Six days ahead are recommended for all three fuel grades in Fujairah this week, after the market’s tightness temporarily eased last week.
Brent
ICE Brent September futures have come up by $0.39/bbl since Friday, to $74.87/bbl at 16.00 SGT (08.00 GMT).
The UAE and Saudi Arabia have yet to come to an agreement over output policy. Negotiations have been at an impasse in the wake of a cancelled OPEC+ meeting last week in which they clashed over output quotas. Without a deal, OPEC+ looks set to roll over current cuts to August.
The impasse has fuelled uncertainty about OPEC+ output, and could result in member states take individual supply initiative and pump more oil.
“In the absence of an agreement, we think members will increase output and we’ll see a breakdown of a broader deal, which would suggest weaker prices in the longer-run,” ING head of commodities strategy Warren Patterson said in a note.