Most prices in East of Suez ports have moved in mixed directions, and VLSFO availability is tight across several Japanese ports.

IMAGE: Aerial daytime view of Tokyo port, Japan. Getty Images

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

• VLSFO prices up in Zhoushan ($8/mt), unchanged in Singapore, and down Fujairah ($2/mt)
• LSMGO prices down in Zhoushan ($18/mt), Fujairah ($5/mt) and Singapore ($2/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Zhoushan, Fujairah ($1/mt), and down in Singapore ($1/mt)

Zhoushan’s LSMGO price has fallen by $18/mt over the weekend, marking the steepest fall among the three ports. This has widened Zhoushan’s LSMGO discount to Fujairah by $13/mt, to $37/mt, while it remains at $45/mt premium over Singapore.

Zhoushan continues to see slow bunker demand, with lead times holding at 4-7 days for VLSFO and LSMGO.

Meanwhile, Zhoushan’s VLSFO price has gained over the weekend. It now stands at a premium of $26/mt over Singapore and $29/mt over Fujairah.

Across Japanese ports — Osaka, Nagoya, Mizushima — VLSFO availability is expected to remain very tight through the end of the year. HSFO availability in Tokyo, Chiba, Kawasaki, Yokohama is also expected to be tight until the end of December.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has lost by $0.48/bbl on the day from Friday, to trade at $61.28/bbl at 17.00 SGT (09.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Escalating geopolitical tensions have provided some support to Brent crude’s price over the weekend.

Last week, US President Donald Trump-led government announced fresh sanctions on six oil tankers transporting Venezuelan crude, following the seizure of a tanker off Venezuela's coast.

“President Trump announced new sanctions on three of Venezuelan President Maduro’s nephews as well as six oil tankers,” ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes said.

The news has raised some supply concerns, according to market analysts. “Until this latest escalation, Venezuela had been raising its oil exports,” Hynes said.

The oil market is also facing heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine, “despite the US still pushing for a peace deal,” he further added.

Downward pressure:

Weighing on Brent’s price, the total number of rigs drilling for crude oil in the US rose by one last week to 414 units, according to Baker Hughes.

The US oil rig count is seen as an indicator of future oil production. It reflects how much oil drilling activity is happening or expected to happen in the shale sector.

Additionally, recent projections by energy agencies have revived concerns over a potential supply glut – putting downward pressure on Brent’s price.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) sees global oil supply to grow by 3.3 million b/d to average 106.2 million b/d in 2025 and rise by about 2.4 million b/d to average 108.6 million b/d in 2026.

“Crude oil also fell as weakness in US equity markets added to bearish sentiment about oversupply,” Hynes noted.

Meanwhile, US-based Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects global liquid fuels production to grow by 3 million b/d to reach 106.1 million b/d in 2025 and by another 1.3 million b/d to touch 107.4 million b/d next year.

By Aparupa Mazumder

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