Most bunker benchmarks in European and African ports have risen, and prompt supply is tight at the Gibraltar strait ports.

IMAGE: Aerial view of the Bay of Gibraltar. Getty Images

Changes on the day to 09.00 GMT today:

• VLSFO prices up in Durban ($8/mt) and Rotterdam ($1/mt), and down in Gibraltar ($5/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Rotterdam ($9/mt) and Gibraltar ($7/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Durban ($2/mt) and Gibraltar ($1/mt), and unchanged in Rotterdam
• Rotterdam B30-VLSFO premium over VLSFO down by $14/mt to $252/mt
• Gibraltar B30-VLSFO premium over VLSFO up by $8/mt to $323/mt

Conventional fuel prices at all the three main ports have mostly risen in the past day, tracking Brent’s gain.

Gibraltar’s VLSFO price has been an outlier, having slipped to $521/mt from $526/mt yesterday. The considerable gain in Durban’s VLSFO price has widened Gibraltar's discount to the South African port by $13/mt to $100/mt in the past session.

These changes in the ports' VLSFO prices, along with comparatively modest changes in HSFO prices at both ports, has narrowed Gibraltar's Hi5 spread by $6/mt to $65/mt and widened Durban's Hi5 spread by $6/mt to $90/mt.

Meanwhile, Rotterdam’s B30-VLSFO price has fallen $13/mt, compared to a Gibraltar’s $3/mt gain, widening the latter’s price premium by $16/mt to $124/mt.

VLSFO, LSMGO and HSFO fuel availability is tight for immediate supplies at Gibraltar, Algeciras and Ceuta, with lead times of 8-10 days recommended for HSFO and 5-7 days required for VLSFO and LSMGO each, a trader said.

One supplier in Algeciras is now running 12-18 hours behind schedule, compared to last week when some suppliers were running 2-8 hours behind, port agent MH Bland said.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has gained by $0.09/bbl on the day, to trade at $68.05/bbl at 09.00 GMT.

Upward pressure:

Brent crude’s price has continued to gain on the back of supply-side concerns after Ukraine struck Russia’s Baltic port of Ust-Luga last week, the latest in a series of attacks on energy infrastructure.

The drones allegedly hit Russia’s biggest nuclear power plant and started a huge fire at the port’s fuel export terminal, Reuters reports.

“Ukraine has attacked eight Russian refineries so far this month, raising concerns of fuel market tightness,” said ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes.

Besides, oil market jitters grow as US President Donald Trump renewed threats of tougher sanctions on Russia if it fails to reach a ceasefire deal soon.

“Trump said there needs to be more clarity within roughly two weeks,” remarked two analysts from ING Bank.

Downward pressure:

Money managers and hedge funds have reduced their net-long bets on ICE Brent futures for the third consecutive week to 19 August.

The decline in net-long positions comes as the oil market braces for the US-imposed 25% secondary tariffs on India’s purchases of Russian oil, set to take effect tomorrow.

Speculators sold a little short of 24,000 lots as of last Tuesday, decreasing net-long positions in Brent futures to about 182,000 lots, according to futures and options data from ICE Futures Europe.

A pullback in net-long positions usually weighs on prices, while an increase in such bets tends to provide support.

By Nachiket Tekawade and Aparupa Mazumder

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