Americas bunker prices have mostly gained with Brent, and bad weather has halted bunkering in GOLA and Zona Comun.

Changes on the day to 07.00 CST (13.00 GMT) today:

• VLSFO prices up in Zona Comun ($8/mt), Balboa ($5/mt) and Houston ($2/mt), and down in New York ($2/mt) and Los Angeles ($1/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Balboa and New York ($1/mt), and down in Los Angeles ($11/mt) and Houston ($1/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Los Angeles and New York ($5/mt) and Houston ($2/mt), and down in Balboa ($1/mt)

Los Angeles’ LSMGO price has dropped steeply to reverse some of yesterday's gains. Meanwhile, Houston’s LSMGO price has dropped marginally in the past day. This has narrowed Los Angeles’ LSMGO price premium over Houston from $54/mt yesterday, to $44/mt now.

Bunker demand in Los Angeles and Long Beach has surged this week, tightening the availability of fuel grades for prompt delivery. Suppliers now require a lead time of over seven days to fulfil orders in both locations, a source says.

Bunker operations have been suspended at Argentina’s Zona Comun anchorage today due to gale-force wind gusts. Calmer weather is forecast from tomorrow morning onwards and could allow bunker operations to resume at the anchorage.

Bunker deliveries have also remained halted in the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area (GOLA), where the weather conditions are rough. Forecasts indicate that the weather will continue to be challenging throughout the week, with wind speeds expected to increase to as high as 34 knots. However, there has not been any backlog so far due to low demand there.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has gained $0.87/bbl on the day, to trade at $73.80/bbl at 07.00 CST (13.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

The ceasefire deal between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, coupled with renewed geopolitical conflicts rising in other parts of the world has collectively lent support to Brent’s price today.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) warned of resuming the conflict with Hezbollah if the ceasefire collapses. This news comes as rebel groups from Syria have threatened to unite with other armed factions in neighbouring oil-producing nations.

“The freshly-erupted internal war in Syria continued to fester… while Israel and the Hezbollah militants exchanged attacks in violation of their ceasefire,” VANDA Insights’ founder and analyst Vandana Hari remarked.

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in the country yesterday, following internal issues within the parliament. The martial law was immediately lifted on Wednesday following a bipartisan parliamentary vote that rejected the martial law. Growing political tensions in the country could impact the country's refining capability or imports.

Brent’s price also found support as anticipation grew around the upcoming OPEC+ meeting. The eight members cutting output by 2.2 million b/d are now expected to extend production cuts through the first quarter of 2025, Reuters reported citing sources.

“Oil prices are rising on reports that suggest that OPEC-plus will extend its production cuts until the end of the first quarter of next year,” Price Futures Group’s senior market analyst Phil Flynn said.

Downward pressure:

Brent’s price felt some downward pressure after the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a rise in US crude stocks.

Crude oil inventories in the US rose by 1.2 million bbls in the week that ended 29 November, according to API estimates. The weekly inventory rise contradicted market expectations of a 2.06 million-bbl fall during the week.

A surge in US crude stocks indicates a slowdown in oil demand growth, which can lower Brent's price.

The broadly followed US government data on crude oil stockpiles from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) is due later today.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee and Aparupa Mazumder

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