Americas Market Update 20 Mar

Fuel prices have trended down, and bunker deliveries in Zona Común are expected to be delayed until Monday.

IMAGE: A tugboat in the Houston area. Getty Images

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

• VLSFO prices down in Los Angeles ($67/mt), Zona Comun ($58/mt), New York ($51/mt), Houston ($42/mt) and Balboa ($34/mt)
• LSMGO prices down in Balboa ($77/mt), Los Angeles ($75/mt), Houston ($67/mt) and New York ($66/mt)
• HSFO prices down in Los Angeles ($57/mt) and Houston ($6/mt)

Bunker fuel prices in key ports in the Americas have moved down with Brent over the past day.

Balboa’s VLSFO price benchmark has fallen less than in other major ports. A higher-priced 150–500 mt VLSFO stem fixed for $910/mt has put upward pressure on the benchmark.

Bunker demand in Panama is rising, with prompt supply of all three conventional fuel grades tight and requiring at least seven days of lead time to secure, a source said.

Houston’s LSMGO benchmark is currently at large discounts of $137/mt to New York, $137/mt to Los Angeles and $176/mt to Balboa, making it an attractive port to bunker the grade.

Bunker demand in Houston is steady, with recommended lead times for all three conventional fuel grades at 7–10 days.

In Argentina’s Zona Comun, deliveries are expected to face delays until 23 March due to high wind gusts at the anchorage. Conditions are expected to improve thereafter, a trader tells ENGINE.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has lost $5.03/bbl on the day, to trade at $107.81/bbl at 08.00 CDT (13.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Brent crude is poised to end the week near $110/bbl as critical energy infrastructure in the Middle East continues to be targeted by Iranian air airstrikes.

In Kuwait, state-operated Kuwait Petroleum Corp has suspended operations at its Mina Al-Ahmadi and Mina Abdullah refineries, after they were attacked by Iranian drones, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company Aramco’s Samref refinery – which it jointly owned by US-based ExxonMobil – at the Red Sea port of Yanbu was targeted with a missile.

“Yanbu is critical for Saudi Arabia and has increased crude exports since the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz,” ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes said, adding that the attack could remove 5-6 million b/d of oil supply.

Downward pressure:

Brent’s price rally lost steam after US President Donald Trump said in a social media post that Washington or Tel Aviv would not target Iranian oil and gas infrastructure again.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated the same in a press conference later.

Adding further downward pressure on oil prices, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Washington could soon lift some sanctions on Iranian crude stranded at sea to ease supply constraints caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

“There are also suggestions that President Trump may ease some sanctions on Iranian oil to help limit price gains,” two analysts from ING Bank said. “Additional downward pressure reflects the US administration ruling out export restrictions on oil,” they added.

By Gautamee Hazarika and Aparupa Mazumder

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