Most European and African bunker prices have mostly caught a ride upwards with Brent, while Gibraltar’s prices have dipped to regional discounts.
Changes on the day to 08.00 GMT today:
- VLSFO prices up in Durban ($17/mt) and Rotterdam ($13/mt), and down in Gibraltar ($2/mt)
- LSMGO prices up in in Durban ($20/mt) and Rotterdam ($17/mt), and down in Gibraltar ($3/mt)
- HSFO prices up in Gibraltar ($9/mt) and Rotterdam ($6/mt)
Fresh VLSFO price gains have been made in Rotterdam and Durban. Rotterdam’s price has dropped to wider discounts of $9-12/mt to Hamburg, Gothenburg and Skaw, and to parity with Ust-Luga in the Baltic Sea.
Gibraltar’s low sulphur fuel prices have moved against Brent and other bunkering ports and inched down on the day. Its VLSFO fell amid a lower-priced stem, and has more than halved its premium over Rotterdam, to $10/mt now. The price difference between the two bunkering hubs have been volatile in recent weeks, with Gibraltar occasionally dipping below Rotterdam.
Gibraltar’s VLSFO and LSMGO prices have also flipped to discount to other Mediterranean ports, including discounts to Malta of $7/mt for VLSFO and $1/mt for LSMGO.
No vessels are waiting to enter Gibraltar this morning, while Algeciras has some slight delays, according to MH Bland.
High swell has limited bunkering in Las Palmas to inner anchorage and at berth. Several suppliers are delayed as there is reduced space to bunker in. There are no disruptions in Tenerife, where swell is lower. The swell is expected to stay high until Monday, before picking up again later next week.
Brent
ICE September Brent has bounced back and gained $2.37/bbl on the day, to $72.05/bbl at 08.00 GMT.
US crude stocks rose to end an eight-week draw last week, Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed. The stocks grew amid a big drop in exports and higher imports.
The country’s gasoline inventories held broadly steady while those for distillates were drawn. Refinery production of the two fuel products dipped on the week in a sign of slightly weaker demand.
Brent defied the crude stock build and continued to rally after the data was published yesterday.
“I must admit that the rally caught me completely flat-footed, especially its scale. Notably, there were no surprises within the distillate or gasoline indexes to support the jump in prices either. I can only surmise that with risk sentiment climbing in New York anyway elsewhere, that some gold old-fashioned FOMO fast-money drove the rally,” OANDA market analyst Jeffrey Halley said today.
Goldman Sachs revised its Brent forecast for the third quarter down by $5/bbl to $75/bbl this week, citing a dent to demand from the spread of the Delta coronavirus variant. The global demand recovery is still set to outpace the comeback of OPEC+ and US shale barrels into the market, even if hospitalisation rates rise, the bank said according to Reuters.