Americas Market Update 16 July

Fuel prices across the Americas have mostly increased, and strong wind gusts could disrupt bunker operations in New York.

IMAGE: Aerial view of Port Newark. Getty Images.

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

• VLSFO prices up in New York, Los Angeles ($11/mt) and Balboa ($10/mt), unchanged in Houston, and down in Zona Comun ($19/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Los Angeles, Balboa ($23/mt), New York ($18/mt) and Houston ($7/mt), and down in Zona Comun ($42/mt)
• HSFO prices up in New York ($28/mt), Los Angeles ($21/mt), Houston ($16/mt) and Balboa ($9/mt)

Balboa's LSMGO price has increased after a higher-priced 50-150 mt stem, booked at $1,278/mt, offered upward pressure to the benchmark.

Bunker availability is stable in the Panamanian ports of Balboa and Cristobal. Recommended lead times are 3-5 days for VLSFO and LSMGO, while HSFO requires around 7 days, a source said.

In the East Coast, at the port of New York, the port's HSFO price has increased more than VLSFO over the past day, narrowing the port's Hi5 spread to $148/mt, from $165/mt on Wednesday.

Periods of high wind gusts are forecast through 19 July and could disrupt operations at the port, a source said. Currently, no backlog congestion has been reported, but suppliers may require standby tugs in adverse weather conditions.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has gained $0.95/bbl on the day, to trade at $86.03/bbl at 08.00 CDT (13.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Brent crude’s price has felt some upward pressure after the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a decline in US crude stocks.

Commercial US crude oil inventories decreased by 1.7 million bbls, to 409.7 million bbls, in the week ending 10 July, according to data from the EIA.

A drop in US crude stocks can indicate higher demand for oil and put some upward pressure on Brent's price.

“US commercial crude oil inventories remain near the lowest levels since 2022, while seasonally they are at their lowest level since 2018,” two analysts from ING Bank noted.

Downward pressure:

US President Donald Trump quickly abandoned plans to impose a 20% fee of a cargo’s value for the US to assist in safely transiting the Strait of Hormuz – this has continued to put some downward pressure on Brent’s price.

Moving away from his previous “reimbursement fee” rhetoric, Trump now aims to secure trade deals with Gulf states instead.

The US administration has remained silent on the specifics of the trade and investment framework Trump claims these nations will adopt with Washington.

By Gautamee Hazarika and Aparupa Mazumder

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