Prices in East of Suez ports have moved down, and prompt supply of all grades is tight in Fujairah.

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

• VLSFO prices down in Zhoushan ($12/mt), Singapore ($11/mt) and Fujairah ($1/mt)
• LSMGO prices down in Zhoushan ($18/mt), Fujairah ($12/mt) and Singapore ($10/mt)
• HSFO prices down in Singapore and Zhoushan ($11/mt) and Fujairah ($7/mt)
• B24-VLSFO at a $191/mt premium over VLSFO in Singapore
• B24-VLSFO at a $199/mt premium over VLSFO in Fujairah

Zhoushan and Fujairah’s VLSFO benchmarks have declined sharply over the past day while Singapore’s has remained mostly stable. Zhoushan’s VLSFO price is now nearly equal to both Fujairah and Singapore.

Meanwhile, Zhoushan’s LSMGO price has dropped by $18/mt - the most significant decrease amongst the three major Asian bunker ports. The port's LSMGO premium over Singapore is $28/mt, while it stands at a $58/mt discount to Fujairah.

VLSFO lead times in Zhoushan have extended from around three days last week to 4–6 days this week due to low stock levels and delayed replenishments for some suppliers, according to a source. LSMGO lead times have also increased to 4–6 days. HSFO availability has tightened significantly, with lead times rising from about three days last week to 7–10 days.

In Fujairah, prompt bunker availability remains tight, with lead times for all grades steady at 5–7 days, the same as the previous week. At Omani ports, including Sohar, Salalah, Muscat, and Duqm, LSMGO supply remains abundant.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has plunged $2.07/bbl on the day, to trade at $72.35/bbl at 17.00 SGT (09.00 GMT).

Upward pressure:

Brent’s price found some support from supply tightness concerns.

OPEC+ ministers will hold a call later today to discuss the need for compliance with the agreed oil production quotas, Bloomberg reported citing delegates from the alliance.

Kazakhstan has consistently come under pressure for exceeding its production limit during the ramp-up of its massive Tengiz oil field expansion.

“Some [OPEC+] members have been overproducing against their quotas and have been asked by de facto leader Saudi Arabia to make extra curbs as compensation,” ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes remarked.

Downward pressure:

Brent’s price plunged after US President Donald Trump unleashed the highly anticipated tariffs on all global trade partners.

Trump announced that a minimum 10% tariff will be imposed on all countries exporting goods to the US from 5 April, in response to the high tariffs those nations already impose on American exports.

The announcement has sparked concerns of a major global trade war that could dampen demand for commodities like oil, according to market analysts. “The global trade order just got rewritten. The U.S. is weaponizing deficits — and the market will need to quickly sort the winners from the losers,” SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said.

Brent’s price felt more downward pressure after the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a massive 6.2 million-bbl surge in US crude oil inventories. A surge in inventories signals weaker oil demand, which can drag Brent's price down.

The weekly EIA inventory report was “fairly bearish,” two analysts from ING Bank noted.

By Tuhin Roy and Aparupa Mazumder

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