Price benchmarks have moved in mixed directions across the Americas, and HSFO supply is tight at the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area (GOLA).

PHOTO: Houston Ship Channel. Port Houston

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

• VLSFO prices up in Zona Comun and Houston ($9/mt), unchanged in Los Angeles, and down in Balboa ($5/mt) and New York ($1/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Los Angeles ($15/mt), Houston ($11/mt) and Balboa ($4/mt), and down in Zona Comun ($4/mt) and New York ($1/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Los Angeles ($2/mt), New York and Balboa ($1/mt), and down in Houston

Los Angeles's LSMGO benchmark has recorded the highest increase in the past session. The grade is currently trading at premiums of $30/mt to New York and $66/mt to Houston.

The port’s VLSFO benchmark has remained unchanged, while the HSFO price has increased, narrowing the Hi5 spread to $115/mt.

Bunker demand remains stable in Los Angeles.

"The market has remained fairly the same as last week. We haven’t seen many bookings this week, so far. Availability is okay, I would say," a bunker trader said.

All three fuel grades can be delivered with lead times of 7-8 days in Los Angeles.

The National Hurricane Center has notified that no tropical cyclone activity is expected for the next seven days.

This could bring some relief to bunker deliveries in the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area (GOLA), which typically operates on a first-come, first-served basis and is often disrupted by rough weather conditions during the hurricane season.

The anchorage is currently tight on HSFO supplies. VLSFO and LSMGO deliveries are available within 5–7 days, a source informed.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has lost $0.44/bbl on the day, to trade at $68.54/bbl at 08.00 CDT (13.00 GMT).

Upward pressure:

The European Union’s (EU) latest round of sanctions on Russian energy has provided modest support to Brent’s price this week.

Last week, the EU approved the 18th package of economic sanctions, aimed at limiting Moscow’s oil revenues.

The EU targeted 105 shadow fleet vessels that Russia allegedly uses to circumvent the price caps set on its crude and oil products.

The EU has also lowered the oil price cap for Russian crude from $60/bbl to $47.60/bbl.

“It [price cap] will be set dynamically at 15% below market rates moving forward, which would see the threshold start off somewhere between USD45–50/bbl [$45-50/bbl],” said ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes.

Downward pressure:

Brent’s price has slipped on worries that mounting US-EU trade tensions may dent crude oil demand by undermining global economic activity.

“[The] persistent US trade tensions stoked worries that countries may not be able to strike deals before the August 1 deadline,” remarked VANDA Insights’ Vandana Hari.

EU envoys are set to meet this week to formalise a plan to respond to a possible no-deal scenario with the US, Bloomberg Reports.

The US is expected to put a near-universal tariff on EU goods higher than 10%, with fewer exemptions, another Bloomberg report adds.

“The trade deal impasse could hurt economic activity and thus crude oil demand,” Hynes added.

By Gautamee Hazarika and Aparupa Mazumder

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