Americas Market Update 24 Apr

Bunker fuel prices have moved in mixed directions, and deliveries in Zona Comun may be impacted by disruptions through Monday.

IMAGE: Container loading area in the port of Balboa. Getty Images.

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

• VLSFO prices up in Balboa ($32/mt) and Houston ($31/mt), and down in Zona Comun ($12/mt), New York ($3/mt) and Los Angeles ($1/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Houston ($48/mt), Balboa ($29/mt) and New York ($27/mt), and down in Zona Comun ($54/mt) and Los Angeles ($2/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Houston ($5/mt) and Los Angeles ($4/mt), and down in New York and Balboa ($2/mt)

Conventional fuels at Houston have recorded price gains over the past session, with LSMGO posting the highest increase among key ports for the second consecutive day.

This increase has been influenced by two higher-priced LSMGO stems, a 50–150 mt stem fixed at $1,295/mt, and another 150–500 mt stem fixed at $1,230/mt, both of which have put upward pressure on the benchmark.

The port is seeing steady bunker demand this week, and recommended lead times for LSMGO stand around 4 days this week, a trader tells ENGINE.

Balboa’s VLSFO price has increased the highest for the grade, while the port’s HSFO price dipped, widening the port’s Hi5 spread to $87/mt today from $53/mt yesterday.

In Argentina’s Zona Comun, bunker operations are expected to face possible disruptions through the weekend until 27 April, a source said.

Availability at the anchorage location is normal, with recommended lead times of 5–6 days for both VLSFO and LSMGO.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has gained $3.43/bbl on the day, to trade at $105.51/bbl at 08.00 CDT (13.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Brent crude’s price continues to trade north amid sustained geopolitical escalation in the Middle East.

Yesterday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) seized two container ships – the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca and the Liberia-flagged Epaminondas – while firing gunshots at a third vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.

The news has put upward pressure on Brent’s price, breaking well above $100/bbl once again, according to market analysts.

“The IRGC escorted the seized ships toward the Iranian coast, again terrorizing this vital chokepoint that carries a significant portion of the world’s oil and LNG flows,” Price Futures Group’s senior market analyst Phil Flynn said.

Downward pressure:

Commercial US crude oil inventories increased by 1.9 million bbls to about 466 million bbls in the week ending 17 April, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

“That’s [EIA figures] still about 3% above the five-year average for this time of year — keeping the crude market well-supplied and balanced,” Flynn said.

A build in US crude stocks typically indicates lower demand for oil and can put some downward pressure on Brent's price.

Meanwhile, a ceasefire extension between Israel and Lebanon has also capped some of Brent’s price gains today.

By Gautamee Hazarika and Aparupa Mazumder

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