Prices in East of Suez ports have moved up, and prompt availability of all grades is tight in Fujairah.

IMAGE: Container ships and gantry cranes in Port Khorfakkan, UAE. Sharjah Ports

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

• VLSFO prices up in Singapore ($6/mt), Zhoushan ($5/mt) and Fujairah ($4/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Singapore ($8/mt), Zhoushan ($7/mt) and Fujairah ($4/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Fujairah ($10/mt), Singapore and Zhoushan ($6/mt)
• B24-VLSFO at a $252/mt premium over VLSFO in Singapore
• B24-VLSFO at a $261/mt premium over VLSFO in Fujairah

VLSFO prices across the three major Asian bunker hubs have risen within a narrow band of $4–6/mt over the past day. In Fujairah, VLSFO is priced at a $25/mt discount to Zhoushan and is trading near parity with Singapore.

Fujairah’s HSFO price has climbed by $10/mt — the sharpest increase among the three ports — supported by a higher-priced stem fixed there. Even with the rise, Fujairah’s HSFO continues to trade at discounts of $40/mt and $17/mt to Zhoushan and Singapore, respectively.

Prompt bunker supply remains tight in Fujairah, with recommended lead times of 5–7 days for all grades, a situation mirrored at nearby Khor Fakkan.

In Egypt’s Port Suez, the supply crunch is more severe, with VLSFO, LSMGO and HSFO stocks nearly depleted. Qatar’s Ras Laffan is also facing tight availability of VLSFO and LSMGO. Meanwhile, Djibouti is experiencing acute shortages, with VLSFO and HSFO almost exhausted and LSMGO in limited supply.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has gained by $0.91/bbl on the day, to trade at $69.56/bbl at 17.00 SGT (09.00 GMT).

Upward pressure:

Brent’s price has gained on the back of supply concerns in the global oil market.

The price surge follows media reports that Russia may cut diesel exports amid escalating Ukrainian drone strikes on its oil refineries.

The cutback in exports will mainly affect companies that buy diesel inside Russia and then ship it abroad, Bloomberg reported.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict, that started in 2022, has escalated further in recent weeks, with the latter carrying out successive drone strikes targeting Russian refineries, pipelines, and export hubs.

The attacks have dealt a significant blow to Russia’s energy sector – a key contributor to its economy.

“Russia is restricting diesel exports, owing to disruptions at several refineries caused by Ukrainian drone strikes, and may have to curtail crude production,” VANDA Insights’ founder Vandana Hari said.

Downward pressure:

Iraq’s Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani has announced a landmark agreement between Baghdad and the Kurdish regional government in Erbil to restart oil exports from its Kurdish region to Turkey on Saturday, Reuters reported.

Crude flows from the region were interrupted for more than two years, the report added. This news has put some downward pressure on Brent’s price today.

The resumption of crude exports from Iraqi Kurdistan “could return up to 500kb/d [500,000 b/d] to the global market,” remarked ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes.

By Tuhin Roy and Aparupa Mazumder

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