Prices in East of Suez ports have recorded gains, and availability of all grades remains good in Hong Kong.

IMAGE: Container ship and working crane bridge with Hong Kong skyline in the background. Getty Images

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

• VLSFO prices up in Zhoushan ($13/mt), Fujairah ($6/mt) and Singapore ($5/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Zhoushan ($23/mt), Fujairah ($18/mt) and Singapore ($2/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Zhoushan ($14/mt), Fujairah ($7/mt) and Singapore ($4/mt)
• B24-VLSFO at a $195/mt premium over VLSFO in Singapore
• B24-VLSFO at a $233/mt premium over VLSFO in Fujairah

VLSFO benchmarks across East of Suez ports have increased by $5–13/mt, with Zhoushan recording the sharpest rise. As a result, Zhoushan’s discount to Singapore has almost disappeared, bringing prices to near parity, while its VLSFO premium over Fujairah now stands at $11/mt.

In Zhoushan, VLSFO supply has slightly improved amid subdued demand. Most suppliers are now advising lead times of 4–6 days, a reduction from 5–7 days last week.

In Singapore, VLSFO delivery schedules remain highly variable. Some suppliers can deliver within three days, while others require bookings up to three weeks in advance. This reflects a narrowing from last week’s broader range of 9–11 days.

In contrast, Hong Kong continues to maintain stable conditions, with lead times for all fuel grades holding steady at around seven days, consistent with previous weeks.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has declined by $0.39/bbl on the day, to trade at $68.41/bbl at 17.00 SGT (09.00 GMT).

Upward pressure:

Oil market watchers are closely monitoring the escalating geopolitical tensions that could significantly disrupt global trade and cut a major chunk of Russian oil supply from the market.

Yesterday, US President Donald Trump renewed his threat to impose higher tariffs on imported goods from India, if New Delhi continues its Russian oil purchase, Reuters reports.

In response, the Indian government has dismissed Washington’s stance as “unjustified and unreasonable,” widening the rift between the two trade partners. These developments have provided some support to Brent, according to market analysts.

“India has become a major buyer of the Kremlin’s oil since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine,” said ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes. “Any disruption to those purchases would force Russia to find alternative buyers from an increasingly small group of allies,” he added.

Downward pressure:

Brent crude has continued to slide following OPEC’s latest announcement to accelerate its planned output hikes.

Over the weekend, eight members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) have agreed to collectively increase their supply by 547,000 b/d in September, accelerating the group’s plan to boost crude production.

“This completes the unwinding of the 2.2mb/d [2.2 million b/d] production cuts that eight producers implemented last year to help stabilise the market,” Hynes claimed.

However, there was little clarity on the future of the production cuts introduced by the broader group two years ago, which still keeps 1.66 million b/d of crude oil offline.

By Tuhin Roy and Aparupa Mazumder

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