European and African bunker prices are mostly broadly steady on the day, while Rotterdam’s low sulphur fuel prices have made sharp gains.

 

Changes on the day to 09.00 GMT today:

· VLSFO prices up in Rotterdam ($15/mt), Gibraltar and Durban ($1/mt)

· LSMGO prices up in Rotterdam ($11/mt), Gibraltar ($7/mt), and Durban ($1/mt)

· HSFO prices up in Gibraltar ($2/mt), and down in Rotterdam ($2/mt)

 

Rotterdam’s VLSFO price increased against Gibraltar’s again, narrowing its discount to just $5/mt, down from $32/mt in the earlier week.

 

Bunker fuel oil supply has become tighter in the ARA region in recent days, pushing recommended lead times to 5-7 days for VLSFO.

 

Bunker operations are currently running smoothly in Hamburg after the recent cyber attacks on Oiltanking and Mabanaft which affected operations. There were a few minor delays over the weekend as suppliers were unable to load barges at Oiltanking, hence the suppliers were seen providing bunkering at the nearby port of Rostock, sources say.

 

Congestion is minimal in Gibraltar, with only one vessel awaiting bunkers, says port agent MH Bland. 10 vessels are waiting to bunker across inner and outer anchorages in Algeciras today.

 

Brent

Front-month ICE Brent has slipped $0.21/bbl on the day, to $89.08/bbl at 09.00 GMT today.

 

Brent has seen some downward pressure after Iranian oil minister Javad Owji said the country is ready to boost oil supply as soon as US sanctions are lifted, and that Iranian supply is needed to cool rallying prices, Iranian news agency Shana reports.

 

The announcement came after OPEC+ stuck to its plan of bringing back 400,000 bbls of output in March, when member states met for monthly talks yesterday. The group hopes to unwind its remaining 2.6 million b/d output cuts by the end of this year, Reuters reports.

 

However, the group is currently running behind its monthly target hikes, as output rose only 210,000 b/d in January compared to December, according to a Reuters survey.

 

Meanwhile, US crude oil inventories fell by 1 million bbls on the week, according to US Energy Information Administration data. The country’s crude oil stocks were down 13% from a year earlier.

 

“US production is also lower on colder weather and that might continue as Texas braces for an Arctic blast,” says OANDA analyst Ed Moya.