Bunker fuel prices have mostly tracked Brent's upward movement, and weather conditions in Houston remain favorable for bunkering.

IMAGE: Vessel docked in the Port of Houston in the US. Port of Houston

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

• VLSFO prices up in Balboa ($24/mt), Zona Comun ($14/mt), New York ($8/mt), Houston ($2/mt) and unchanged in Los Angeles
• LSMGO prices up in Balboa ($38/mt), New York ($21/mt), Zona Comun ($18/mt), Los Angeles ($14/mt) and Houston ($7/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Balboa and Houston ($9/mt), New York ($1/mt), and down in Los Angeles ($1/mt)

Balboa has recorded the highest gains across all three fuel grades in the past session, with VLSFO increasing more than its HSFO, widening the port's Hi5 spread to $53/mt.

Fuel availability is good in Panama for VLSFO and LSMGO which are available at the ports with lead times of 3–4 days. HSFO supply has been running tight at Balboa and requires at least a week to be delivered.

Houston's HSFO price has gained equally to Balboa's by $9/mt and is currently at a small premium of $29/mt to New York, down from the $50/mt discount a month ago.

"The weather has been nice to us in Houston lately, which has helped bunkering go smoothly," a bunker trader told ENGINE.

The National Hurricane Center has issued advisories for Hurricane Kiko in the Central Pacific, while no tropical cyclone activity is expected in the Atlantic over the next seven days.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has gained $0.87/bbl from Friday, to trade at $66.68/bbl at 08.00 CDT (13.00 GMT).

Upward pressure:

Brent crude’s price has gained some support amid prospects of tighter sanctions on Russian crude oil.

US President Donald Trump said yesterday that Washington is prepared to move to a “second phase” of sanctions on Russia, Reuters reported.

The European Union is reportedly exploring new sanctions on Russian banks and energy companies, according to Bloomberg.

The development comes after Moscow launched one of its largest airstrikes on Sunday, setting a major government building ablaze in central Kyiv.

Meanwhile, debris from Ukrainian drones started a fire at a major oil refinery in Russia’s Ryazan region on Friday. The oil refinery is owned by Rosneft, one of Russia’s largest oil producers.

“Oil climbed higher this morning after reports that the European Union is exploring new sanctions on Russian banks and energy companies as part of its latest measures to end the war in Ukraine,” two analysts from ING Bank said.

Downward pressure:

Eight members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) have agreed to collectively increase their production by 137,000 b/d in October.

Commenting on OPEC’s latest move, SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes remarked, “the message is unmistakable: the era of price defense is over, and the new playbook is market share and revenue maximization.”

The Saudi Arabia-led group implemented two voluntary output cuts in 2023 – 1.65 million b/d in April and 2.2 million b/d in November.

The group is on track to complete the rollback of the 2.2 million b/d cuts this month, with Sunday’s decision initiating the phase-out of the April reduction, OPEC said.

“For Saudi Arabia, this is less about squeezing every dollar from Brent and more about pumping lost barrels back into circulation,” Innes added.

By Gautamee Hazarika and Aparupa Mazumder

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