Bunker benchmarks in European and African ports have tracked Brent’s downward movement, and bunker supply is tight in Las Palmas. 



Changes on the day to 09.00 GMT today:

• VLSFO down in Gibraltar ($10/mt), Rotterdam ($9/mt) and Durban ($7/mt)  
• LSMGO prices down in Rotterdam and Gibraltar ($13/mt) 
• HSFO prices down in Gibraltar ($12/mt) and Rotterdam ($10/mt)  
• Rotterdam B30-VLSFO premium over VLSFO down by $8/mt to $249/mt

Rotterdam’s LSMGO price has fallen by a steep $13/mt, defying the upward pull of a significantly higher-priced prompt LSMGO stem fixed at $677/mt for 150-500 mt in the past day. The port’s HSFO and VLSFO prices have also dipped, erasing gains from earlier this week. Rotterdam’s Hi5 spread is currently around $45/mt. 

Gibraltar’s Hi5 spread has widened significantly to $39/mt compared to last week’s $26/mt. Similarly, Las Palmas’ Hi5 spread has also widened to $34/mt after narrowing considerably last week when it was around $13/mt. Prompt bunker supply is still tight in Las Palmas with lead times of 8-10 days, advised by traders. 

Meanwhile, VLSFO supply is tight for prompt delivery in the South African ports of Durban and Richards Bay. Lead times of 7-10 days are advised for the grade in both ports, according to a trader. LSMGO remains dry in Durban, a trader said. The grade has been dry since the last week of January, when suppliers ran out of LSMGO stock.

Off Luanda, LSMGO availability has been tight recently and requires longer lead times of 6-7 days, a source told ENGINE. VLSFO availability is good with recommended lead times of 4-5 days. 

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has plunged $2.07/bbl on the day, to trade at $72.35/bbl at 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 Manjula Nair and Aparupa Mazumder

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