European and African bunker prices are mostly rangebound, while Rotterdam’s low sulphur prices have extended their declines.
Changes on the day to 08.00 GMT today:
- VLSFO prices up in Durban ($3/mt) and Gibraltar ($2/mt), and down in Rotterdam ($11/mt)
- LSMGO prices up in Durban ($4/mt), steady in Gibraltar, and down in Rotterdam ($6/mt)
- HSFO prices up in Rotterdam ($1/mt), and steady in Gibraltar
Rotterdam’s VLSFO price has come down amid lower fixing values. The price has dipped $8/mt below prices in Hamburg, Skaw and Gothenburg, which have been pricing the grade at discounts to Rotterdam and other ARA ports in recent days.
Gibraltar’s VLSFO price has moved back up to a premium of more than $25/mt over Rotterdam, after having been at a slight discount at the start of the week. Gibraltar’s price has also moved to parity with Las Palmas and Tenerife, while LSMGO is $2-4/mt more expensive in the Canary Islands ports.
There is no congestion and minimal bunker delays in the Canary Islands and Gibraltar Strait this morning, port agency MH Bland says.
Ceuta is forecast with strong winds at the weekend. Las Palmas is expected to have high swell from tomorrow and over the weekend, which could hamper outer anchorage bunkering.
Sapref’s Durban refinery will begin a gradual restart from today. The refinery is South Africa’s largest and produces bunker fuels for domestic ports. A force majeure was declared and the refinery was shut last Wednesday, when riots in the country threatened its security. It will take 7-10 days to ramp up production fully, refinery operators told Reuters.
Brent
Front-month ICE Brent has gained $0.33/bbl on the day, to $69.68/bbl at 08.00 GMT.
The futures contract has steadied and moved slightly up after sharp losses yesterday. Prices fell yesterday amid renewed oil demand concerns from the spread of the Delta Covid-19 variant. New daily cases have reached multi-month highs in several Asian and European countries, as well as certain US states with low vaccination rates.
“It has been quite the week for oil, with ICE Brent plunging below US$70/bbl, and trading to its lowest levels since May, with growing concerns over the spread of the Delta variant and what this will mean for demand,” ING’s Warren Patterson and Wenyu Yao said today.
Brent recovered some lost ground later today as the market awaits the weekly Energy Information Administration (EIA) report on US crude and oil products stocks for further price direction. Crude stocks have been drawn down in consecutive weeks for two months, and a reversal to a stock build could weigh on Brent.
Figures from the American Petroleum Institute (API), published yesterday, showed a “surprising” 800,000 bbl build in US crude inventories, according to ING. The build ran counter to analyst expectations for a draw and weighed on Brent earlier this morning.