Americas Market Update 19 Aug

Fuel prices have moved in mixed directions, and availability is good at ports in Panama.

IMAGE: Vessel docked in the Port of Houston in the US. Port of Houston

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

• VLSFO prices up in Los Angeles ($51/mt) and down in Zona Comun ($15/mt), New York, Balboa ($8/mt) and Houston ($5/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Los Angeles ($18/mt) and Houston ($11/mt), and down in Zona Comun ($20/mt), New York ($11/mt) and Balboa ($5/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Houston ($27/mt), Balboa ($7/mt) and Los Angeles ($4/mt), and down in New York ($8/mt)

Houston's HSFO price has increased by the most among the grade, after a higher-priced 500–1,500 mt stem, booked at $540/mt, put upward pressure on the benchmark.

The port's LSMGO price has also recorded an increase after a higher-priced, 50–150 mt LSMGO stem was fixed at $1,318/mt.

Availability at the port is normal, with suppliers recommend lead times of around 5–7 days for HSFO, VLSFO and LSMGO.

In Balboa, the port's HSFO price has increased while its VLSFO price has declined over the past day. These price movements have narrowed the port's Hi5 spread to $122/mt today, from $137/mt yesterday.

Fuel availability at the Panamanian ports of Balboa and Cristobal is good across all three conventional grades, with lead times for HSFO having improved, a trader has said. Recommended lead times for all three conventional fuel grades stand at around 3–6 days.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has lost by $0.23/bbl on the day, to trade at $91.09/bbl at 08.00 CDT (13.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Brent crude has moved higher for a fourth consecutive session, as ongoing uncertainty surrounding the US-Iran standoff continues to put upward pressure on prices.

US President Donald Trump has signalled that talks with Iran have ended and that additional sanctions on Tehran could be announced later this week.

The potential implications of this move for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz could be adverse, according to market analysts.

“Oil prices extended gains… as uncertainty over a resolution to the US-Iran conflict continued to support risk premiums,” two analysts from ING Bank noted.

Downward pressure:

While there are no major downward pressures acting on Brent’s price today, market analysts continue to closely monitor the situation in the Middle East.

The 60-day peace accord that Trump signed on 17 June effectively ended earlier this week. However, Iran said the agreement is not dead but in a “coma”, its state-owned news agency IRNA reported.

Tehran’s comments suggest it could come back to the negotiation table if Washington agrees to its demands.

By Gautamee Hazarika and Aparupa Mazumder

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