Bunker benchmarks in European and African ports have moved in mixed directions, and VLSFO supply in Nacala and Maputo is tight.

IMAGE: Bunker supplier CPG Bunkering receiving VLSFO and HSFO cargoes in Nacala, Mozambique. CPG

Changes on the day to 09.00 GMT today:

• VLSFO prices up in Gibraltar ($5/mt), unchanged in Rotterdam, and down in Durban ($3/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Rotterdam ($17/mt) and Gibraltar ($12/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Gibraltar ($8/mt) and Rotterdam ($4/mt)
• Rotterdam B30-VLSFO premium over VLSFO up by $14 at $245/mt

Rotterdam’s LSMGO price has recorded the steepest increase in the past session of all the fuel grades in Rotterdam, Durban and Gibraltar. This price increase has narrowed Gibraltar’s LSMGO premium over Rotterdam by $5/mt to $79/mt now.

Hi5 spreads in Rotterdam and Gibraltar have narrowed slightly in the past session, by $4/mt and $3/mt to $43/mt and $47/mt, respectively.

Five vessels are currently awaiting bunkers at Gibraltar port, according to port agent MH Bland. Limited barge availability and a lack of space for vessels to bunker remain the key causes for this congestion. One supplier is running 6-12 hours behind schedule, the port agent added.

In Mozambique's Nacala and Maputo ports, availability of VLSFO is tight, according to a supplier. Nacala has good availability of HSFO and LSMGO, while LSMGO supply in Maputo is very tight, the supplier added.

VLSFO and LSMGO grades are readily available at Luanda, according to a trader.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has gained by $1.12/bbl on the day, to trade at $75.40/bbl at 09.00 GMT.

Upward pressure:

Brent crude has surpassed the $75/bbl mark as hopes for a swift resolution to the Israel-Iran conflict fade, with the dispute now entering its sixth day.

US President Donald Trump is weighing several options amid rising hostilities in the Middle East, including a possible US airstrike on Iran, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Crude prices [are] ripping higher on intensifying speculation that the US could soon join Israel in direct military action against Iran,” SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes remarked.

The conflict has renewed fears about the security of vital oil transit chokepoints in the region, including the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Aden and Bab al-Mandab Strait.

“The biggest fear for the oil market is the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz,” two analysts from ING Bank noted. “This could impact oil flows from the Persian Gulf. Almost a third of global seaborne oil trade moves through this chokepoint,” they said.

Downward pressure:

Concerns related to global oil demand growth have capped some of Brent’s price gains this week.

Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) now expects global oil demand to grow by 720,000 b/d in 2025 and by 740,000 b/d in 2026 - both revised down by around 200,000 b/d from its earlier forecasts.

The weakness in US and Chinese oil demand growth in the second quarter will be a major contributor to the downward trend, the agency said.

On the supply side, the IEA projects global oil production to grow by 1.8 million b/d to average 104.9 million b/d in 2025, and by another 1.1 million b/d in 2026.

The energy agency has also projected “an average 1.1 million b/d of supply overhang this year,” VANDA Insights’ founder and analyst Vandana Hari said.

By Samantha Shaji and Aparupa Mazumder

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