Fuel prices have mostly risen in European and African ports, and fuel availability remains stable in Istanbul.

IMAGE: Aerial view of a cargo ship in transit in Istanbul, Türkiye. Getty Images

Changes on the day to 09.00 GMT today:

• VLSFO prices up in Gibraltar ($13/mt), Rotterdam ($11/mt) and Durban ($7/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Gibraltar ($16/mt) and Rotterdam ($13/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Durban ($16/mt), Rotterdam ($9/mt) and Gibraltar ($7/mt)
• Rotterdam B30-VLSFO premium over VLSFO up by $28/mt to $281/mt
  

Fuel prices in most major ports have moved higher in the past session, tracking the rise in Brent.

At Istanbul, the price of VLSFO has dropped $5/mt. A lower-priced 50-150 mt VLSFO stem fixed at $610/mt may have weighed down on the price. Conversely, the port's HSFO price has increased by $12/mt, narrowing the Hi5 spread at Istanbul by $17/mt to $71/mt.

Fuel availability of VLSFO, ULSFO and LSMGO is stable at the Turkish port with advised lead times between 1-5 days, while HSFO deliveries require firm enquiry, a trader said.  

Wind gusts of up to 25 knots and waves of around 1 meter are forecast in Istanbul between 26-27 September, which may lead to some bunkering delays at the port.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has gained by $1.27/bbl on the day, to trade at $67.65/bbl at 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 Nachiket Tekawade and Aparupa Mazumder

Please get in touch with comments or additional info to news@engine.online