Americas Market Update 23 Jan

Bunker fuel prices across the Americas have moved upwards, and deliveries at Zona Comun may be delayed due to high wind gusts.

IMAGE: Container ship docked in the Port of Balboa. Getty Images.

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

• VLSFO prices up in Los Angeles ($16/mt), Zona Comun, Balbao ($12/mt), Houston ($11/mt) and New York ($7/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Zona Comun, Balboa ($21/mt), Los Angeles ($19/mt), New York ($14/mt) and Houston ($8/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Balboa, Los Angeles ($12/mt) Houston ($8/mt) and New York ($4/mt)

All key ports across the Americas have tracked Brent's upward movement, recording gains in the past day.

The price of VLSFO at Los Angeles has increased by the highest measure within the grade. It is currently at premiums of $33/mt to New York and $87/mt to Houston.

Availability across all fuel grades is normal at the West Coast ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, with suppliers recommending lead times of 5-7 days.

At Balboa, prices of both HSFO and VLSFO has increased by the same amount, keeping the Hi5 spread steady at $58/mt today.

Availability at the port is normal, and demand has eased towards the end of January, a supplier told ENGINE. Recommended lead times for HSFO, VLSFO and LSMGO are 4–6 days.

Zona Comun's LSMGO price has gained the highest in the past day. Deliveries are currently underway, but periods of high wind gusts until 25 January could lead to intermittent disruptions. Lead times at the anchorage for VLSFO and LSMGO are at 5–7 days.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has gained $1.23/bbl on the day, to trade at $65.24/bbl at 07.00 CST (13.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Brent has remained relatively steady in the past week, as concerns around supply disruption and the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) revised oil demand growth outlook have supported the benchmark.

The IEA has revised its oil demand growth forecast for 2026 up from 860,000 b/d to 930,000 b/d, adding some support to Brent’s price.

Supply disruption concerns have resurfaced after Kazakhstan halted output at its Tengiz and Korolev oilfields after power disruptions. Kazakhstan produced 35% less crude per day in the first 12 days of January than on average in December, according to Reuters.

Downward pressure:

The US, Russia and Ukraine will hold a trilateral meeting in the UAE, Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed in a social media post.

“Any breakthrough to end Russia’s war in Ukraine could see an end to US sanctions on Russia that have curtailed oil flows,” Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ said.

US President Donald Trump has rescinded tariff threats against nations that oppose his plans to acquire the island after claiming that his ambitions for Greenland were headed toward a negotiated solution.

“Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region,” Trump said in a social media post.

US commercial crude stocks have increased by 3.60 million bbls in the week ending 16 January to 426 million bbls, according to the Energy Information Administration. This is slightly higher than the American Petroleum Institute’s estimate of a 3.04 million-bbl build.

By Gautamee Hazarika and Konica Bhatt

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