Americas Market Update 26 Aug

Fuel prices have mostly moved downwards, and the hurricane center issued advisories on tropical storms Iselle and Lala.

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

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

• VLSFO prices down in Zona Comun ($21/mt), Houston ($12/mt), Balboa ($9/mt), Los Angeles ($3/mt) and New York ($1/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in New York ($9/mt), and down in Zona Comun ($28/mt), Balboa ($17/mt), Houston ($11/mt) and Los Angeles ($6/mt)
• HSFO prices unchanged in New York, and down in Balbao ($12/mt), Los Angeles ($7/mt) and Houston ($6/mt)

New York's LSMGO price has increased over the past day, while prices at other major ports in the Americas have tracked Brent's downward movement.

The port's LSMGO benchmark is currently at a premium of $169/mt to Houston and a $5/mt discount to Los Angeles.

Bunkering operations at the port have been reported to be busy this week. Strong demand for HSFO and VLSFO has been seen at the port, a trader said.

HSFO and VLSFO require lead times of 5-7 days, while LSMGO is typically made available within four days.

The National Hurricane Center has issued advisories on Tropical Storm Iselle in the Eastern Pacific and Tropical Storm Lala in the Central Pacific, amidst the ongoing hurricane season.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has lost by $2.53/bbl on the day, trading at $86.68/bbl at 08.00 CDT (13.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Brent crude’s price has felt some upward pressure amid the escalating conflict between US and Iran.

China has formally dismissed Washington’s economic campaign against Iran, calling it “illicit and unilateral.”

The US, yesterday, announced nearly 60 Iran-related sanctions and threatened imposing secondary sanctions on international allies who continue trading with Iran.  

By threatening secondary penalties on any nation continuing to trade with Tehran, these sweeping sanctions pull Beijing directly into the US-Iran economic crossfire.

Downward pressure:

Brent crude’s price has plunged below $90/bbl mark after the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a surprise build in US crude stocks.

Commercial US crude oil inventories increased by 4.2 million bbls in the week ending 21 August, according to API estimates.

The increase was well above market expectations for a 1.9 million-bbl build.

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

By Gautamee Hazarika and Aparupa Mazumder

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