Most bunker prices in the Americas have come down with Brent, and bunker operations have resumed in GOLA and Zona Comun.

PHOTO: Aerial view of the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles in southern California in the afternoon. Getty Images

Changes on the day to 08.00 CDT (13.00 GMT) today:

• VLSFO prices unchanged in Houston, and down in Los Angeles ($10/mt), New York ($9/mt), Balboa ($5/mt) and Zona Comun ($4/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Houston ($34/mt), and down in New York ($32/mt), Zona Comun ($25/mt), Balboa ($18/mt) and Los Angeles ($6/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Houston ($9/mt) and New York ($2/mt), and down in Los Angeles ($9/mt) and Balboa ($1/mt)

Houston’s LSMGO price has jumped in the past day, with support from three prompt and non-prompt LSMGO stems fixed at higher levels. Meanwhile, New York’s LSMGO price has dropped steeply with pressure from a lower-priced LSMGO stem. This has flipped New York’s LSMGO price premium of $28/mt over Houston, to a $38/mt discount now.

Houston’s HSFO price has also gained with support from a higher-priced stem, while the port’s VLSFO price remained steady. The price moves have narrowed its Hi5 spread from $141/mt, to $132/mt.

Bunker operations have resumed in the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area (GOLA) today after being suspended since yesterday due to bad weather conditions. But strong wind gusts are again forecast to hit on Sunday, which could impact bunkering in the area.

Bunker operations have also resumed in Argentina's Zona Comun today after being suspended for nearly nine days due to bad weather conditions. VLSFO and LSMGO availability remains very tight for prompt and non-prompt dates at the Zona Comun anchorage. Several suppliers are able to only deliver stems for delivery dates in the first week of May, a source says.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract plunged $1.57/bbl lower on the day, to trade at $87.46/bbl at 08.00 CDT (13.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Brent futures continued to draw support from growing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Oil market analysts are bidding on the chances of Israel's retaliation against the drone attack launched by Iran on 13 April. Any direct attack on Iranian oil facilities can put oil supplies under pressure and move Brent’s prices up again, analysts said.

“There's no denying that the Middle East remains a volatile region, akin to a powder keg resting atop smouldering embers,” said SPI Asset Management’s managing partner Stephen Innes.

Iran is OPEC’s third-largest crude oil producer with daily output slated above 3 million b/d, according to the group’s latest oil market report.

Downward pressure:

Brent futures plummeted after the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a 2.74 million-bbl build in US commercial crude oil inventories to 459.99 million bbls on 12 April - the highest level since June last year.

“A bearish EIA inventory report appears to have been the perfect opportunity for investors to lock in profits after the recent gains,” said ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes.

The American Petroleum Institute’s (API) inventory report a day earlier was also bearish, suggesting a lacklustre growth in oil demand in the world’s largest oil-consuming nation.

Israel's delay in retaliating against Iran's recent attack added additional downward pressure on Brent futures, according to analysts.

“The lack of an immediate response by Israel to Iran’s weekend attack has seen the market reduce its geopolitical risk premium,” Hynes added.

Brent futures have reverted to levels preceding the 1 April incident, when Israel struck Iran’s consulate in Syria, remarked Vandana Hari, founder and market analyst at Vanda Insights. This shift suggests that “the latest bout of risk premium from heightened Israel-Iran tensions has eroded,” she added.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee and Aparupa Mazumder

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