Prices in three major Asian ports have moved up, and prompt availability of all bunker grades remains good in Zhoushan.

PHOTO: Bunker barge at berth in Fujairah, UAE. Port of Fujairah

Changes on the day to 17.00 SGT (09.00 GMT) today:

• VLSFO prices up in Zhoushan ($10/mt), Singapore and Fujairah ($5/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Fujairah ($16/mt), Zhoushan ($10/mt) and Singapore ($8/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Zhoushan ($12/mt), Singapore ($9/mt) and Fujairah ($6/mt)

Bunker benchmarks in East of Suez ports have followed Brent’s upward trajectory and gained some in the previous day. Zhoushan’s VLSFO price has moved up by $10/mt – the steepest among the three major Asian bunker hubs.

Prompt availability of all bunker grades remains good in Zhoushan amid lower demand. Most suppliers can supply grades with short lead times of 2–5 days – largely unchanged from last week.

LSMGO price in Fujairah has shot up by $16/mt in the past day. Its premium over Singapore's LSMGO and Zhoushan's LSMGO stands at $113/mt and $96/mt, respectively.

Prompt availability remains tight in the UAE port of Fujairah, with many suppliers recommending lead times of 7-10 days for all grades, unchanged from last week. Bunker demand has been sluggish in the port, a source said.

Other UAE port of Khor Fakkan also has a similar demand situation, with most suppliers recommending lead times of 7-10 days.

Meanwhile, prompt LSMGO is readily available in Omani ports, including Sohar, Salalah, Muscat, and Duqm.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract gained $1.37/bbl on the day, to trade at $86.57/bbl at 17.00 SGT (09.00 GMT).

Upward pressure:

Escalating tensions in the Middle East continue to support Brent price gains. The failure of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas has again raised concerns about possible oil flow disruptions in the region.

“The lack of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas continues to keep tensions in the Middle East elevated,” ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes stated.

The oil market is eagerly awaiting the outcomes of the upcoming OPEC+ Joint Monitoring Ministerial Committee (JMMC) meeting scheduled for next week, where discussions on extending supply cuts for the remainder of the year are on the agenda.

“Supply side issues also remain in focus ahead of a meeting by the OPEC Joint Monitoring Ministerial Committee next week,” Hynes further remarked.

Downward pressure:

US commercial crude oil inventories rose by 3.17 million bbls to 448 million for the week ending 22 March, according to US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data released yesterday. The stock build was much smaller than the 9.3 million bbls build predicted by the American Petroleum Institute (API).

The gasoline stocks also rose by 1.30 million bbls to 232 million bbls, signalling lower demand in the US.

“A shocking build in crude supply might be a bit hard to shake off,” Price Futures Group’s senior market analyst Phil Flynn commented.

“Oil [Brent] traded under pressure… as a report from the American Petroleum Institute showed a substantial build in US inventories, against the market expectations for a drawdown," stated two analysts from ING Bank.

By Aparupa Mazumder and Tuhin Roy

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