East of Suez prices are mostly down with Brent, and bunkering may be suspended in Zhoushan next week due to bad weather.
Changes on the day to 16.00 SGT (08.00 GMT)
- VLSFO prices up in Singapore and Fujairah ($3/mt), and down in Zhoushan ($5/mt)
- LSMGO prices down in Zhoushan ($23/mt), Singapore ($3/mt), and in Fujairah ($3/mt)
- HSFO380 prices up in Fujairah ($1/mt), and down in Singapore ($3/mt)
Bunkering could be suspended in Zhoushan during a bout of bad weather from Monday to Wednesday next week, a source says. The port may experience gale-force winds of above 35 knots through 30 November, according to a forecast.
VLSFO availability at the port remains normal with around 2-3 days of lead time required. A supplier expects VLSFO resupply from an incoming cargo by 2 December. Lead times for HSFO remain up to seven days. LSMGO availability is tight with a cargo expected to arrive with replenishment on 2 December. LSMGO supply has also been under pressure from refinery maintenances and robust demand from fishing vessels.
Fuel availability remains tight in Japan’s Tokyo Bay amid refinery maintenance and power sector demand for fuel oil, a source says. Spiked gas prices have spurred higher demand for fuel oil for power generation, capping availability in the bunker market. VLSFO and HSFO380 availability is tight in Tokyo, with a waiting time of up to seven days. LSMGO is more readily available.
VLSFO availability remains tight in Singapore with lead times of up to 10 days required – longer than the 6-8 days ahead for LSMGO.
In Fujairah, prompt VLSFO, HSFO380 and LSMGO availability remains tight. Lead times of 6-7 days are advised.
Brent
Front-month ICE Brent crude has slid $0.49/bbl on the day, to $82.12/bbl at 16.00 SGT (08.00 GMT).
Brent has come off after big gains in the previous session. After the announcement of a US-led release of strategic oil reserves along with major Asian oil consumers and the UK, the ball is back in OPEC+’s court.
The big question is whether OPEC+ will decide to phase back output by another 400,000 b/d in January, as it has done since August. OPEC+ members will meet on 2 December for monthly talks. An additional meeting of core OPEC members is slotted in for 1 December.
Brent has “settled into a nervous wait-and-see mode with focus on the Dec 2 OPEC+ meeting after its advisory board said the US-led coordinated release of reserves may drive a crude oil surplus early next year,” Saxo Bank says.
US crude oil inventories gained by 1 million bbls in the week to 19 November, while gasoline and distillate stocks were drawn again to multi-year lows, according to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Gasoline and distillate stocks fell despite a further uptick in refinery utilisation, pointing to strong demand ahead of the Thanksgiving weekend.