Bunker prices are mostly rangebound in Europe and Africa, dipping slightly with Brent.
Changes on the day to 08.00 GMT today:
- VLSFO prices steady in Rotterdam, and down in Gibraltar ($4/mt) and Durban ($2/mt)
- LSMGO prices down in Rotterdam ($6/mt), Gibraltar ($4/mt) and Durban ($2/mt)
- HSFO prices up in Durban ($1/mt), and down in Rotterdam and Gibraltar ($1/mt)
VLSFO traded around all-time highs in Rotterdam earlier this morning. A lower-priced stem later put its benchmark price under pressure, dragging it down in line with Hamburg’s price, and $8-10/mt below Skaw and Gothenburg’s levels.
Gibraltar’s VLSFO price has slid down to narrow its discount over Rotterdam from $11/mt to $7/mt.
Suppliers in Gibraltar Strait ports have minimal delays amid calm weather today.
High swells continue to threaten outer anchorage bunkering in Las Palmas, but suppliers are carrying out deliveries as normal today, port agent MH Bland says.
Winds and swells from the northeast has limited bunkering to sheltered areas off Malta’s west coast today. Stronger winds and gale are forecast until Friday and could delay stems.
Brent
Front-month ICE Brent crude has shed $0.50/bbl in the past day, to $85.67/bbl at 08.00 GMT.
Global oil supplies remain under pressure and the futures contract rallied to seven-week intraday highs yesterday. Forecasts of a colder-than-usual November in is expected to trigger power plants to pull more heating oil and other oil derivatives as feedstock.
“A colder November has energy traders bracing for a very tight market that will be met unprecedented demand this winter,” OANDA analyst Ed Moya said.
OPEC+ supply restraint is expected to keep the market firmly in a deficit over the winter and well into the first half of next year, Moya added.
Brent’s rally has run out of steam today amid weaker Chinese demand prospects. The Chinese government has intervened to keep a lid on surging coal and natural gas prices. If prices are reigned in, it could limit power plants from further switching to oil-based fuels.
Global gas-to-oil switching could boost oil demand by 1 million b/d, Goldman Sachs estimates according to Reuters. The bank now forecasts Brent could climb to $90/bbl by the end of the year.