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 down in Balboa ($19/mt), Houston ($13/mt), Zona Comun ($11/mt) and New York ($3/mt)
• LSMGO prices down in Houston ($19/mt), New York and Balboa ($16/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Balboa ($31/mt), and down in Houston ($13/mt) and New York ($6/mt)

Balboa’s HSFO price has defied the general market direction and gained sharply in the past day. Meanwhile, the port’s VLSFO price has dropped steeply with pressure from a stem fixed at lower levels. This has led Balboa’s Hi5 spread to narrow by $50/mt to $115/mt.

In Cristobal, HSFO has risen by $24/mt while VLSFO has dropped by $5/mt, to narrow the port’s Hi5 spread by $29/mt to $141/mt.

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

Bunker operations also resumed at Argentina's Zona Comun anchorage today after being suspended by bad weather since Sunday.

Availability of VLSFO and LSMGO remains extremely tight in Zona Comun. The earliest delivery dates with several suppliers have been pushed back to the first week of May.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has dropped by a marginal $0.04/bbl on the day, to trade at $86.26/bbl at 08.00 CDT (13.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Brent futures have risen due to ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

“The geopolitical backdrop is still very fraught with so many risks at the moment, so clearly we're going to see a lot of volatility until there's a lot more clarity around it," according to ANZ analysts.

The possibility of supply disruptions looms as sanctions on Iranian oil remain a key concern, market analysts said. The US already has oil sanctions in place against Iran.

Lawmakers in Washington are “considering a bill called the Iran-China Energy Sanctions Act,” ING Bank’s head of commodities strategy Warren Patterson said. This bill aims to restrict Iranian oil flows to China.

Heightened tensions in eastern Europe following the US House of Representatives vote in favour of a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine, which will be used to arm its military, has added uncertainty to the global oil market and contributed to supply concerns.

“The Kremlin's response to the promise of new aid to the country Russia is attempting to conquer (Ukraine) could heighten tensions further,” SPI Asset Management’s managing partner Stephen Innes commented.

Downward pressure:

A stronger-than-expected build in US crude inventories has exerted downward pressure on Brent’s price this week.

Commercial crude oil inventories in the US rose by 2.74 million bbls to 459.99 million bbls on 12 April - highest level since June last year, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Market analysts are now awaiting the release of US gross domestic product (GDP) figures and March's personal consumption expenditure data, recognised by the Fed as an inflation indicator. Both datasets will be crucial for evaluating the Fed’s path of monetary policy, which could impact oil demand in the country.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee and Tuhin Roy

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