Price benchmarks have mostly moved down, and bunker operations are expected to resume in GOLA this afternoon.

IMAGE: The US Gulf Coast beach of Galveston, Texas. Getty Images

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

• VLSFO prices unchanged in Zona Comun, and down in Houston ($19/mt), New York, Los Angeles ($3/mt) and Balboa ($2/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Zona Comun ($2/mt), unchanged in New York and Los Angeles, and down in Houston ($21/mt) and Balboa ($1/mt)
• HSFO prices up in New York ($1/mt), unchanged in Los Angeles, and down in Balboa ($5/mt) and Houston ($1/mt)

Among VLSFO prices, Houston’s benchmark has declined the most in the past day. The port’s HSFO price has fallen by only $1/mt, and this has narrowed its Hi5 spread to a slim $16/mt today, down from $32/mt last Thursday.

Several Houston suppliers have had limited supply of HSFO this week and been unable to offer for fresh bunker inquiries.

Meanwhile, the nearby bunker location in the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area (GOLA) has had good availability of HSFO, which can be delivered with lead times of 3–4 days.

"I haven’t seen any issues for HSFO at GOLA, but I have seen a lot in-port. Not sure what the exact reason is, but supplies are definitely short at Houston," a bunker trader said.

Bunker operations are scheduled to resume in GOLA at noon local time today, after having been suspended since Tuesday.

With ongoing rough weather conditions, there are currently gale warnings in effect through tonight for the Houston area, including Galveston Bay.

Zona Comun’s VLSFO price has remained unchanged, while its LSMGO price has recorded a slight increase of $2/mt.

At the Argentinian anchorage, bunker fuel demand has weakened this week, with suppliers expressing frustration over the lack of inquiries and vessel calls, a source has said.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has moved $0.22/bbl lower on the day, to $64.22/bbl at 08.00 CDT (13.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

The oil market’s attention remains fixed on today’s highly anticipated meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

Both leaders are scheduled to meet in Seoul, South Korea, to discuss ways to ease trade tensions and strengthen bilateral economic ties.

The oil market is “laser-focused” on a high-stakes summit between two leaders, “that is expected to result in a trade war détente,” VANDA Insights’ founder Vandana Hari commented.

Meanwhile, Brent crude’s price has moved higher after the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a big draw in US crude stocks.

Commercial US crude oil inventories have declined by 6.9 million bbls to 416 million bbls for the week ending 24 October, according to data from the EIA.

“Lower imports were behind the inventory draw, with total crude imports falling 867k [867,000] b/d week-on-week to the lowest level since February 2021,” remarked two analysts from ING Bank.

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

Downward pressure:

Fears of a supply glut have capped some of Brent’s price gains today, as market analysts expect the OPEC+ group of oil producers to continue ramping up production in December.

Earlier this week, a Bloomberg report suggested that the Saudi Arabia-led coalition may announce another monthly increase of 137,000 b/d for December.  

Eight members of the group are scheduled to virtually meet on 2 November to decide on December production policy.

“The market will also be watching this weekend's OPEC+ meeting, where the group will likely announce another 137k b/d [137,000 b/d] supply hike for December,” ING Bank’s analysts added.

By Gautamee Hazarika and Aparupa Mazumder

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