Fuel benchmarks have largely moved down, and no tropical cyclone activity is expected in the Gulf of Mexico for the next seven days.

IMAGE: Aerial view of an industrial harbour in New York. Getty Images

Changes on the day to 08.00 CDT (13.00 GMT) today:

• VLSFO prices up in New York ($6/mt), and down in Balboa ($20/mt), Zona Comun ($15/mt) and Houston ($12/mt)
• LSMGO prices down in Zona Comun ($34/mt), Balboa ($27/mt), New York ($25/mt) and Houston ($15/mt)
• HSFO prices down in Balboa ($30/mt), New York ($15/mt) and Houston ($7/mt)

Zona Comun's LSMGO price has seen the largest decrease in the past session. It is currently at a massive premium of $263/mt over Santos.

Availability is normal in Zona Comun with recommended lead times of 5-6 days for both VLSFO and LSMGO.

The anchorage location is expected to experience periods of dense fog between 16-17 July, which may disrupt bunkering and cause temporary suspensions.

The National Hurricane Center has said that no tropical cyclone activity is expected in the Gulf of Mexico over the next seven days.

Balboa's HSFO price has moved down by $30/mt while VLSFO moved down a smaller $20/mt in the past session, widening the port's Hi5 spread to $55/mt now.

Availability is good at the port. VLSFO and LSMGO can be delivered with lead times ranging between 4-5 days, and HSFO in four days.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has lost $1.53/bbl on the day, to trade at $69.12/bbl at 08.00 CDT (13.00 GMT).

Upward pressure:

Brent’s price has found some support on the back of strong oil demand growth projection by the Saudi Arabia-led OPEC+ group of producers.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has forecast global oil demand to reach 123 million b/d by 2050, marking a growth of more than 19 million b/d since 2024.

OPEC projects Asia, Africa and the Middle East to be the key drivers of long-term oil demand growth. The market now awaits the group’s monthly oil market due later today.

Import data from China has also supported oil prices today. The country imported about 12.14 million b/d of crude oil last month, marking a month-on-month increase of 10.6%.

“Better [Chinese] refinery run rates supported these gains,” said ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes.

Downward pressure:

US President Donald Trump has reportedly dismissed the need for a Senate-backed sanctions bill on Russia, according to market analysts. This news has pushed Brent’s price lower.

The US President has instead proposed a 50-day window to reach a ceasefire deal with Ukraine, warning that secondary sanctions would follow if the talks fail.

“The pause eased concerns that direct sanctions on Russia could disrupt crude oil flows,” Hynes said.

Prices plunged lower after Trump also threatened to impose 30% tariffs on goods from the European Union (EU) and Mexico over the weekend, triggering fears of deteriorating trade relations that could weigh on global demand.

The announcement was followed by “a range of tariff demand letters last week that contained some of the highest rates on major US trading partners,” Hynes added.

By Gautamee Hazarika and Aparupa Mazumder

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