Prices in East of Suez ports have moved in mixed directions, and availability is tight across all grades in Suez and Djibouti.

IMAGE: A ship anchored in Djibouti port with giant cranes unloading its cargo. Getty Images

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

• VLSFO prices up in Fujairah ($7/mt), Singapore and Zhoushan ($4/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Zhoushan ($4/mt) and Singapore ($3/mt), and down in Fujairah ($1/mt)
• HSFO prices unchanged in Fujairah and Zhoushan, and down in Singapore ($2/mt)
• B24-VLSFO at a $248/mt premium over VLSFO in Singapore
• B24-VLSFO at a $246/mt premium over VLSFO in Fujairah

Fujairah’s VLSFO price has risen by $7/mt in the past day, marking the sharpest increase among the three major Asian bunker ports. A higher-priced VLSFO stem fixed in Fujairah has supported the benchmark. Fujairah’s VLSFO price currently stands at a $5/mt premium over Singapore and a $22/mt discount to Zhoushan.

In contrast, Fujairah’s HSFO price has remained unchanged. The price moves have widened the port’s Hi5 spread by $7/mt to $103/mt. This spread is notably higher than those in Zhoushan ($83/mt) and Singapore ($78/mt).

On the supply side, prompt bunker availability in Fujairah remains tight across all grades, with recommended lead times of 5–7 days — a situation also seen at the nearby port of Khor Fakkan.

In Egypt’s Port Suez, stocks of VLSFO, LSMGO and HSFO are nearly depleted. Qatar’s Ras Laffan is also facing tight supply of both VLSFO and LSMGO. Meanwhile, Djibouti is struggling with acute shortages, with VLSFO and HSFO almost exhausted and LSMGO in limited supply.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has gained by $1.27/bbl on the day, to trade at $67.65/bbl at 17.00 SGT (09.00 GMT).

Upward pressure:

Brent’s price has moved higher after the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a second consecutive weekly draw in US crude stocks.

US crude oil inventories dropped by 3.8 million bbls in the week ending 19 September, according to estimates from the API cited by Trading Economics.

A drop in US crude stocks typically indicates higher demand and can lend some support to Brent's price.

Brent has gained further support from renewed geopolitical tensions after US President Donald Trump said Ukraine could regain territory lost to Russia with NATO's help, Reuters reported.

“This [Trump’s remarks] raised the spectre of Trump increasing pressure on Russia, including new sanctions on Moscow and the buyers of crude oil,” said ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes.

Downward pressure:

OPEC’s second-largest oil producer Iraq has greenlighted a plan to resume pipeline exports of crude oil from its semi-autonomous Kurdistan region through Turkey, according to Reuters.

This tripartite deal between the Iraq’s federal government, the regional Kurdish government and a consortium of oil companies operating in Kurdistan could add at least 230,000 b/d of supplies to the global oil market, amid growing OPEC+ output.

The news has put some downward pressure on Brent, according to market analysts.

“Oil prices dropped after news that Kurdistan will restart pipeline exports,” Price Futures Group’s senior market analyst Phil Flynn said. “Baghdad, Erbil, and oil companies agreed to resume crude exports under federal control,” he added.

By Tuhin Roy and Aparupa Mazumder

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