European and African bunker prices have edged up over the weekend, and outer anchorage bunkering is possible in Las Palmas again with calmer weather.
Changes on the day to 08.00 GMT today:
- VLSFO prices up in Gibraltar ($5/mt) and Rotterdam ($2/mt), and down in Durban ($1/mt)
- LSMGO prices up in Gibraltar ($4/mt) and Durban ($2/mt), and down in Rotterdam ($1/mt)
- HSFO prices up in Rotterdam ($1/mt), and down in Gibraltar ($2/mt)
VLSFO prices in Hamburg, Skaw and Gothenburg remain at $2-7/mt discounts to Rotterdam, which typically has the fuel grade at lower prices.
A supplier in ARA has brought back HSFO to its fuel range again, after it cut the grade in the lead-up to the IMO 2020 sulphur cap. The fuel can be delivered as HSFO380, RMK 500 cst or RMK 700 cst.
Some congestion has built in Gibraltar, where eight vessels are waiting to bunker and two suppliers are running 2-8 hours behind schedule, according to port agent MH Bland.
Bunkering at outer anchorage is possible in Las Palmas again amid calmer weather. Highs swell suspended outer anchorage bunkering on Friday, and one supplier is delayed because of congestion in the port.
Las Palmas and Tenerife’s VLSFO prices have dropped down to parity with Gibraltar, coming from $3-6/mt premiums on Friday.
Durban’s VLSFO price premiums over Port Elizabeth and Richards Bay have widened to $17-20/mt. VLSFO and LSMGO are available for prompt deliveries across the ports.
Brent
ICE Brent September futures have come up by $0.39/bbl since Friday, to $74.87/bbl at 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.