Prices of fuels at East of Suez ports have tracked Brent’s upswing, and bunker availability is good across several South Korean ports.

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

• VLSFO prices up in Zhoushan ($13/mt), Singapore and Fujairah ($12/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Fujairah ($14/mt), Zhoushan ($12/mt) and Singapore ($11/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Zhoushan ($17/mt), Singapore ($15/mt) and Fujairah ($8/mt)
• B24-VLSFO at a $203/mt premium over VLSFO in Singapore
• B24-VLSFO at a $222/mt premium over VLSFO in Fujairah

VLSFO benchmarks at East of Suez ports have mostly increased within a narrow range of $12–13/mt, with Zhoushan seeing the sharpest rise. Zhoushan’s VLSFO price is currently at a premium of $22/mt over Fujairah and $12/mt over Singapore.

The price rise in Zhoushan is partially driven by tight VLSFO supply due to low inventories among several suppliers, which has pushed recommended lead times up to 7–10 days, compared to last week’s 4–7 days. HSFO lead times have also increased to 5–7 days, up from 3–5 days previously, while LSMGO lead times remain steady at 3–5 days.

In contrast, South Korea’s VLSFO price stands at a discount of $28/mt to Zhoushan.

Bunker availability across all fuel grades remains strong at several South Korean ports, with most suppliers advising lead times of around two days.

However, bunker operations in Busan and Yeosu may face disruptions from 2–4 June due to high waves. Similar interruptions are expected in Daesan and Taean between 3–4 June, while Ulsan and Onsan could see disruptions on 30 May and again from 2–4 June due to rough sea conditions.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has moved $1.44/bbl higher on the day, to trade at $65.64/bbl at 17.00 SGT (09.00 GMT).

Upward pressure:

Brent crude’s price has gained over $1/bbl in the past session, after the US Court of International Trade blocked President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, according to media reports.

“Oil prices are firmer this morning after a US court blocked President Trump’s 'Liberation Day' tariffs,” two analysts from ING Bank noted.

Market participants are also looking out for potential new US sanctions on Russian and Iranian crude exports.

Earlier this week, President Trump said that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, was “playing with fire,” after Moscow intensified airstrikes on Ukrainian cities. Meanwhile, a nuclear agreement between Washington and Tehran seems to be increasingly off the table after the fifth round of talks between delegates from both countries failed to yield any progress.

“Oil markets strengthened yesterday as sanction risks against Russia increase, while the market appears to be losing hope that we’ll see a nuclear deal between the US and Iran,” the ING Bank analysts said.

Downward pressure:

This week’s biggest news will be the upcoming OPEC+ meeting where the group will discuss production quotas for July.

A group of eight OPEC+ members are currently unwinding 2.2 million b/d of output cuts.

“We're assuming the group will agree on another large supply increase of 411k b/d,” ING Bank analysts said.

The Saudi Arabia-led coalition is set to hold an online meeting on Saturday, a day earlier than previously scheduled.

“We expect similar increases through until the end of the third quarter, as the group increases its focus on defending market share,” the analysts added.

By Tuhin Roy and Aparupa Mazumder

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