European and African benchmarks have made considerable gains in the past session, tracking Brent’s upward movement.

Changes on the day to 09.00 GMT today:

• VLSFO prices up in Durban ($25/mt), Gibraltar ($16/mt) and Rotterdam ($14/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Rotterdam ($17/mt) and Gibraltar ($11/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Durban ($25/mt), Gibraltar ($12/mt) and Rotterdam ($10/mt)
• Rotterdam B30-VLSFO premium over VLSFO up by $15/mt to $237/mt

The pendulum has once again swung upwards, sending prices of conventional fuels in Rotterdam, Durban and Gibraltar sharply up in the past session.

The Hi5 spread in Rotterdam has widened once again, the difference between the port's VLSFO and HSFO prices increasing slowly, after a continued decrease through the first half of this year.

The price of VLSFO in Gibraltar has increased more than its HSFO price, further widening its Hi5 spread to $53/mt. The price difference has finally breached the $50/mt price point it had been below for the past two months.

Prompt bunker availability in the Gibraltar Strait ports is tight, with lead times of 7-10 days, a trader told ENGINE.

Though the ports in Strait are experiencing suitable weather for bunkering after numerous days of disruptive weather conditions, congestion continues, according to port agent MH Bland.

Limited barge availability persists at Gibraltar, with 11 vessels waiting to bunker today, down from 15 yesterday, according to the port agent. Suppliers are 12-24 hours behind in bunker deliveries, the port agent added.

In Algeciras, suppliers are delayed by anywhere from 2-24 hours in bunkering due to congestion, the port agent said.  

Across the Strait, suppliers in Ceuta are 4-8 hours behind schedule, the port agent noted.

On the western side of the Iberian Peninsula, the port of Lisbon has good bunker supplies and lead times of 3-5 days are advised.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has gained by $1.97/bbl on the day, to trade at $63.72/bbl at 09.00 GMT.

Upward pressure:

Oil prices have moved higher, ahead of the US-China trade talks in Switzerland that are scheduled for tomorrow.

“The fate of the US-China trade war is a major factor for sentiment in the oil markets,” VANDA Insights’ founder and analyst Vandana Hari remarked.

Progress is expected over the weekend, as US treasury secretary Scott Bessent meets Chinese vice premier He Lifeng, to address trade tensions that that could potentially ease demand concerns.

Currently, China’s has a 125% tariff active on US goods, while Washington continues to impose duties of 145% on Chinese products.

“Trump said that the 145% levy against China could be lowered if trade talks go well,” ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes noted.

Downward pressure:

Some oversupply concerns in the global oil market have put downward pressure on oil today.

OPEC+ producer Kazakhstan has no plans of cutting oil production in May and plans to pump a daily average of 277,000 mt of crude and condensate, according to a Bloomberg report. This news has capped Brent’s price gains, analysts said.

“News reports that OPEC+ member Kazakhstan has no plans to cut oil production in May were drawing market attention back to ongoing tensions within the alliance over quota-busting,” Hari said.

Kazakhstan, after repeatedly exceeding production quotas over the past year, said earlier that it would put national interest before the oil coalition’s and continue to maintain higher production levels.

By Samantha Shaji and Aparupa Mazumder

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