Benchmark prices have declined in European and African ports, and rough weather is forecast at Durban.

IMAGE: Aerial view of Durban port landscape. Getty Images
Changes on the day from Friday, to 09.00 GMT today:

• VLSFO prices down in Rotterdam ($7/mt), Gibraltar ($5/mt) and Durban ($4/mt)
• LSMGO prices down in Gibraltar ($10/mt) and Rotterdam ($4/mt)
• HSFO prices down in Rotterdam ($7/mt), Gibraltar ($6/mt) and Durban ($2/mt)
• Rotterdam B30-VLSFO premium over VLSFO down by $1/mt to $247/mt
• Gibraltar B30-VLSFO premium over VLSFO up by $1/mt to $313/mt

Fuel prices in all the three major ports have ticked down over the weekend, tracking brent's decline.

Gibraltar’s LSMGO price has fallen more steeply compared to Rotterdam's, narrowing its premium over the latter to $59/mt from $65/mt.

LSMGO supplies in Durban remain dry, while VLSFO and HSFO availability is normal, with lead times of 2-4 days advised for both grades, a trader said.

Wind gusts of more than 30 knots and waves of up to 3 meters are forecast at Durban today, which could disrupt bunkering operations at the port.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has declined by $0.30/bbl on the day from Friday, to trade at $65.89/bbl at 09.00 GMT.

Upward pressure:

Brent crude’s price has found little support after stern remarks from a US spokesperson, heightening supply-related concerns.

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said India’s imports of Russian crude were effectively financing Moscow’s war in Ukraine and should be halted, Reuters reports.

India currently faces a 50% tariff on all exports to the US because of its continued purchases of Russian crude oil.

Notably, China – the world’s second-largest oil consumer – and India remain the two leading buyers of Russian oil.

Downward pressure:

Brent crude’s price has moved lower over the weekend amid reduced concerns over tighter sanctions against Russia following the Alaska summit.

On Friday, US and Russian Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin met to discuss the prospects of a US-brokered ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine.

“It’s unsurprising to see oil trading lower this morning following the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska,” two analysts from ING Bank said.

While the talks failed to secure an immediate ceasefire, “the tone and the absence of “severe consequences” for the lack of a truce, reduce, or at least delay, the risks of stricter sanctions,” the analysts said.

By Nachiket Tekawade and Aparupa Mazumder

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