Most regional bunker benchmarks have dropped again, and bunker operations are suspended in Zona Comun and GOLA.

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

• VLSFO prices unchanged in Houston, and down in Balboa ($19/mt), Los Angeles ($14/mt), New York ($12/mt) and Zona Comun ($11/mt)
• LSMGO prices unchanged in Houston, and down in Los Angeles ($17/mt), Balboa ($14/mt) and New York ($3/mt)
• HSFO prices down in New York and Los Angeles ($12/mt), Balboa ($10/mt) and Houston ($5/mt)

Houston’s VLSFO price has remained unchanged over the weekend, while New York’s VLSFO price has dropped with Brent. This has narrowed New York’s VLSFO price premium over Houston from $72/mt on Friday, to $60/mt now.

Bunkering operations in the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area (GOLA) have been suspended today due to strong wind gusts of up to 39 knots. Wind speeds are forecast to increase further and touch 69 knots on Wednesday.

Suppliers in GOLA have faced intermittent bunkering suspension since Tuesday last week due to unstable weather conditions.

Currently, there is a bunker backlog of about 10-11 vessels, up from Friday’s backlog of 5-6 vessels, a source says. This is likely to grow if the weather conditions continue to deteriorate. Weather is expected to remain rough until Thursday.

Bunker operations have also remained suspended in Argentina's Zona Comun anchorage since Thursday evening due to wind gusts of up to 25 knots. Bunkering delays are expected at the anchorage, a source says.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has lost $1.37/bbl on the day from Friday, to trade at $71.45/bbl at 08.00 CDT (13.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Brent’s price found some support following OPEC’s latest announcement to extend the ongoing 2.2 million b/d oil production cuts for two months.

Last week, eight members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies collectively decided to postpone the gradual easing of production cuts that were planned to begin in October.

Oil’s selloff was “briefly halted by the announcement that OPEC would postpone its production hikes by two months,” ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes said.

In eastern Europe, supply disruption concerns have continued over the weekend, adding some upward pressure on Brent’s price. A series of fires broke out at a fuel depot in Volokonovsky district in Russia's Belgorod region yesterday, its Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov confirmed.

The fire was caused by falling drone debris launched by the Ukrainian armed forces, Gladkov claimed.

Downward pressure:

Brent’s price trailed lower as economic activity in the US continued to show signs of weakness, market analysts said.

Concerns about sluggish economic growth in the US grew after the country's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) published a weaker-than-expected US jobs report on Friday. US employers added 142,000 jobs in August, according to the report.

Oil market analysts were expecting the report to show a much larger growth of 161,000 additional US jobs, according to SPI Asset Management’s managing partner Stephen Innes.

This news has raised demand growth concerns in the US and put downward pressure on Brent’s price. “Demand weakness and a soft oil balance in 2025 are still clearly a concern,” two analysts from ING Bank said.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee and Aparupa Mazumder

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