Prices in East of Suez ports have moved in mixed directions, and VLSFO supply is tight in Singapore.

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

• VLSFO prices up in Singapore ($4/mt), and down in Zhoushan ($3/mt) and Fujairah ($2/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Singapore ($2/mt), and down in Fujairah and Zhoushan ($6/mt)
• HSFO prices down in Singapore ($4/mt), Fujairah and Zhoushan ($2/mt)
• B24-VLSFO at a $198/mt premium over VLSFO in Singapore
• B24-VLSFO at a $216/mt premium over VLSFO in Fujairah

VLSFO benchmarks across the three major Asian bunker ports have remained largely stable for the third consecutive day, with no significant fluctuations. In Singapore, VLSFO is priced at a $7/mt premium over Fujairah and is nearly on par with Zhoushan.

VLSFO availability in Singapore has tightened, with lead times extending from 4–10 days last week to 8–13 days now. HSFO lead times have also increased from 4–8 days to 5–9 days, while LSMGO lead times remain steady at 2–5 days.

In Sri Lanka, Colombo continues to price its VLSFO significantly higher than Singapore, with a premium of $74/mt. Several suppliers in Colombo have ample stocks of VLSFO and LSMGO, offering prompt deliveries. Suppliers in Hambantota also have both grades readily available for immediate deliveries.

Meanwhile, VLSFO remains in short supply at multiple Indian ports, including Mundra, Kandla, Mumbai, Tuticorin, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Cochin and Haldia, continuing the trend of recent weeks. LSMGO availability at most Indian ports varies based on inquiry.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has lost $0.18/bbl on the day, to trade at $74.42/bbl at 17.00 SGT (09.00 GMT).

Upward pressure:

Supply-side issues in the global oil market have lent some support to Brent crude’s price.

Over the weekend, US President Donald Trump intensified pressure on Iran – one of the largest OPEC producers – to immediately come to a deal with Washington and abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Brent crude’s price gained after “he [Trump] threatened to attack the oil producer if it did not sign a deal renouncing nuclear weapons,” ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes said.

Besides, pressure remains on Russia after the US President slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s latest remarks on Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s legitimacy in running the country and threatened to further curb Moscow’s oil exports.

“For now, it appears to be just a threat to Russia and Iran,” two analysts from ING Bank said. “However, if it becomes a reality, it creates plenty of upside risk to the market given the significant oil export volumes from both countries,” they added.

Downward pressure:

Brent’s price lost the previous day’s gains as fears of a decline in demand growth escalated amid uncertainty surrounding Trump’s tariff plans.

Washington is likely to announce tariffs on all global trade partners later today, while tariffs on automobile imports are expected to kick in tomorrow. These tariffs threats have sparked concerns of a brewing global trade war that could dampen demand for commodities like oil, according to market analysts.

Brent crude’s price edged lower “as markets awaited US President Donald Trump unveiling his reciprocal tariffs plan [on trade partners] later in the day,” VANDA Insights’ founder and analyst Vandana Hari remarked.

Brent’s price felt more downward pressure after the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a 6 million-bbl surge in US crude oil inventories.

A buildup in inventories typically signals weaker oil demand, which can drag Brent's price down.

By Tuhin Roy and Aparupa Mazumder

Please get in touch with comments or additional info to news@engine.online