Americas Market Update 18 Nov 2025

Bunker benchmarks have mostly fallen across major Americas ports, and all fuel grades are readily available in New York.

IMAGE: Container vessel sailing in front of the Statue of Liberty. Port of New York and New Jersey

Changes on the day to 07.00 CST (13.00 GMT) today:

• VLSFO prices down in Balboa ($16/mt), Zona Comun ($10/mt), Houston ($6/mt), New York ($5/mt) and Los Angeles ($2/mt)
• LSMGO prices down in Zona Comun ($11/mt), Balboa ($5/mt), Los Angeles ($3/mt), New York and Houston ($1/mt)
• HSFO prices unchanged in Los Angeles, and down in Houston ($10/mt), Balboa ($5/mt) and New York ($4/mt)

Prices for most conventional fuels in the key Americas ports have inched down, tracking Brent’s fall.

Balboa’s VLSFO price has recorded the steepest loss over the past session. This dip, combined with a smaller decline in the port’s HSFO price, has narrowed its Hi5 spread to $29/mt.

Conversely, Houston’s Hi5 spread has widened slightly, as the port’s HSFO price has fallen more sharply than its VLSFO price. Houston’s VLSFO price fall has been softened by a higher-priced 500-1,500 mt VLSFO stem fixed at $457/mt.

All fuel grades are readily available in Houston, according to a source.

On US East Coast, prices in New York have remained rangebound.

Prompt deliveries are possible in New York, but buyers are advised to book stems a few days in advance to avoid paying prompt premiums, a source said.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has fallen by $0.18/bbl on the day, to trade at $64.24/bbl at 07.00 CST (13.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Geopolitical escalations have continued to add upward pressure on Brent crude’s price this week.

The Russian army hit a loaded liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker near the port of Izmail in Ukraine last night. The drone has struck Turkey-flagged LPG tanker MT Orinda, Turkey’s General Directorate of Maritime Affairs said on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

This strike follows last week’s significant Ukrainian drone attack that damaged an oil depot and a vessel at the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.

“Geopolitical risks continue to hang over the oil market,” remarked ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes.

Besides, crude oil exports from Sudan were disrupted after a series of attacks hit energy facilities in the country, Bloomberg reported. These facilities serve “as a conduit for crude from landlocked South Sudan,” according to Hynes.

Downward pressure:

Brent’s price gains have been capped after loadings at the Novorossiysk port resumed over the weekend.

The Novorossiysk port, in the Black Sea, handles approximately 2.2 million b/d of oil exports, including Kazakhstan crude from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal, according to two analysts from ING Bank.

Oil prices fell as the impact of the strike on Russia’s Novorossiysk oil terminal was less severe than initially feared, market analysts said.

“Two tankers have subsequently moored at the [Novorossiysk] port, indicating operational activity,” Hynes said.

By Samantha Shaji and Aparupa Mazumder

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