Conventional fuel prices have shown mixed movements, and strong wind gusts in New York can delay bunker barge operations at the port today.

IMAGE: View from city docks in Houston, Texas. Getty Images.

Changes on the day to 08.00 CDT (13.00 GMT) today:

• VLSFO prices down in Zona Comun ($9/mt), Houston ($6/mt), Balboa ($2/mt) and New York ($1/mt)
• LSMGO prices down in Houston ($15/mt), Zona Comun ($10/mt), Balboa ($5/mt), Los Angeles ($3/mt) and New York ($2/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Balboa ($14/mt), New York, Los Angeles ($4/mt), and down in Houston ($6/mt)

Balboa’s HSFO benchmark has risen $14/mt today, bucking the broader market trend, while Brent and most other prices fell. These price movements have resulted in the port’s Hi5 spread shrinking to $30/mt from $46/mt yesterday.

Houston's LSMGO price has posted the steepest drop across the grade and is now at discounts of $71/mt to New York and $122/mt to Los Angeles.

None the less, fuel demand in Houston has seen a modest uptick this week. HSFO availability is tight, and recommended lead times stand at 10–12 days. VLSFO supply is also tight but remains better than HSFO, requiring 5–7 days of lead time. LSMGO continues to be readily available for prompt delivery at the port.

New York has recorded modest declines in VLSFO and LSMGO prices, while HSFO has gained $4/mt. HSFO and VLSFO remain tight here too, with suppliers advising 6–8 days of lead time.

Southerly winds of up to 20 knots in New York Harbor could raise waves above 2 feet, while showers expected after midnight may reduce visibility to 1–3 nautical miles and hinder barge movements, a source said.

Amid the ongoing hurricane season, marine warnings remain in effect for the Atlantic, Caribbean/Southwest Atlantic, and Eastern Pacific regions.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has lost $0.17/bbl on the day, trading at $64.93/bbl at 08.00 CDT (13.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Brent crude has gained some upward support amid persistent risks to Russian oil supplies following repeated attacks on one of its largest oil refineries.

The Kirishi oil refinery has halted operations at one of its main crude distillation units after a drone attack caused a fire on 4 October, Reuters reported.

The facility has a processing capacity of about 20 million mt/year, and recovery is expected to take around a month, Reuters reported citing two industry sources.

“In the last two months, Ukraine has attacked at least 15 Russian refineries, reducing refinery runs by over 500kb/d [500,000 b/d], with refinery throughput falling below 5mb/d [5 million b/d],” remarked ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes.

Downward pressure:

Oil has edged lower after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) announced another production increase for November.

Eight members of the coalition agreed to collectively increase their production by another 137,000 b/d next month.

This marks the seventh consecutive production hike, though it is significantly smaller than the monthly output increase of about 547,000 b/d in September.

“While this increase isn’t as dramatic as some industry rumors suggested, it still is another monthly hike since April—amounting to roughly 2.5 million additional barrels a day added to global supply,” Price Futures Group’s senior market analyst Phil Flynn said.

By Gautamee Hazarika and Aparupa Mazumder

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