Prices in East of Suez ports have moved up, and bunkering activity in Zhoushan remains muted due to ongoing Golden Week holidays.

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 Singapore ($8/mt) and Fujairah ($4/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Fujairah ($20/mt), Zhoushan ($17/mt) and Singapore ($6/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Singapore ($10/mt), Zhoushan ($3/mt) and Fujairah ($2/mt)
• B24-VLSFO at a $252/mt premium over VLSFO in Singapore
• B24-VLSFO at a $263/mt premium over VLSFO in Fujairah

LSMGO prices across East of Suez ports have increased by $6–20/mt over the weekend.

In Zhoushan, LSMGO is priced at a $14/mt premium over Singapore but remains at a significant discount of $51/mt to Fujairah.

Bunker demand in Zhoushan remains weak, with recommended lead times of around 10–12 days for all fuel grades. While fuel availability is reported to be normal, demand across most Chinese ports is expected to remain low this week due to the ongoing holiday season.

Operations across China are likely to stay subdued during the Golden Week holidays (1–8 October), as most suppliers will only handle pre-booked stems. New bookings for delivery before 10 October are not being accepted, according to a source.

In Taiwan, bunker supply remains stable, with VLSFO and LSMGO deliveries typically arranged within three days at Keelung, Hualien, Taichung and Kaohsiung – almost unchanged from last week.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has gained by $0.59/bbl on the day from Friday, to trade at $65.58/bbl at 17.00 SGT (09.00 GMT).

Upward pressure:

Brent crude has climbed above $65/bbl at the start of the week, driven by renewed supply concerns amid escalating geopolitical tensions.

Over the weekend, Ukraine’s military struck the Kirishi oil refinery, also known as Kinef, in Russia’s Leningrad region, for the second time in a month as it continues to target Moscow’s energy infrastructure. 

The facility is owned by Surgutneftegas – one of Russia’s biggest refiners, Bloomberg reported. The city of Kirishi was targeted with seven drones, the report added.

The same refinery came under attack earlier on 14 September. It has a processing capacity of over 20 million mt/year, according to two analysts from ING Bank.

Downward pressure:

Brent’s rally has lost some steam following OPEC+ announcement of a modest output hike for November 2025.

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

The hike is much smaller than the market participants' expectations of about a 500,000 b/d increase.

OPEC’s announcement was “in contrast to markets expecting a more aggressive reintroduction of supply,” ING Bank’s analysts noted.

By Tuhin Roy and Aparupa Mazumder

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