Most prices in East of Suez ports have moved up, and bunker demand remains weak in Zhoushan.

IMAGE: The coastal urban landscape of the port of Kaohsiung in Taiwan. Getty Images

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

• VLSFO prices up in Zhoushan ($3/mt) and Fujairah ($1/mt), and down in Singapore ($4/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Zhoushan ($14/mt), Fujairah ($7/mt) and Singapore ($3/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Zhoushan ($10/mt) and Fujairah ($4/mt), and down in Singapore ($3/mt)
• B24-VLSFO at a $283/mt premium over VLSFO in Singapore
• B24-VLSFO at a $291/mt premium over VLSFO in Fujairah

VLSFO prices in Zhoushan and Fujairah have remained broadly stable over the weekend, while the grade's price in Singapore has dipped slightly. Zhoushan’s VLSFO continues to command premiums of $34/mt over Singapore and $32/mt over Fujairah.

Bunker demand in Zhoushan remains weak, with VLSFO lead times unchanged from last week at 4–7 days. HSFO and LSMGO lead times have increased to 4–7 days, compared with 3–5 days previously.

In Taiwan, lead times are around two days for VLSFO and LSMGO deliveries at Kaohsiung, Hualien and Keelung, and about three days at Taichung.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has gained by $0.80/bbl on the day from Friday, to trade at $67.25/bbl at 09.00 GMT.at 17.00 SGT (09.00 GMT).

Upward pressure:

Brent’s price has moved higher over the weekend as Ukraine ramped up drone attacks on Russian oil facilities – adding fuel to supply disruption concerns in the global oil market, analysts said.

Kyiv has launched at least 361 drones into Russia overnight, targeting refineries and causing a fire at the Kirishi oil refinery in Russia's northwest, Reuters reported citing Russian officials.

“Oil prices extended last week’s gains this morning, following the latest attacks by Ukraine on refineries and ports in Russia,” remarked two analysts from ING Bank.

The attack comes days after Ukraine struck one of Russia’s largest oil exporting terminals in Primorsk.

The Primorsk terminal handles “almost half” of Russia’s seaborne crude oil exports, according to ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes. “The attacks were part of a 200-plus drone raid centred on the Leningrad region,” Hynes said.

Downward pressure:

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has projected the global oil market to stay heavily oversupplied, as weak demand continues to outweigh the pace of supply returning to the market.

Brent crude has felt some downward pressure, “amid softening demand and persistent concerns over a looming global supply surplus,” ING Bank’s analysts said.

The IEA now expects global oil supply to grow by 2.7 million b/d to average 105.8 million b/d in 2025 and rise by another 2.1 million b/d to average about 107.9 million b/d in 2026.

“The IEA also revised up its oil supply growth estimates primarily due to the return of OPEC+ supply,” ING Bank’s analysts added.

Earlier this month, OPEC+ oil producers group agreed to collectively increase supply by 137,000 b/d in October.

By Tuhin Roy and Aparupa Mazumder

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