East of Suez Market Update 12 Dec

Most prices in East of Suez ports have moved up, and LSMGO availability is good across several Omani ports.

IMAGE: An aerial view of Sohar Port and Freezone. Sohar Port and Freezone

Changes on the day to 17.00 SGT (09.00 GMT) today:

• VLSFO prices up in Zhoushan ($11/mt), Fujairah ($4/mt), and unchanged in Singapore
• LSMGO prices up in Zhoushan ($14/mt), Fujairah ($2/mt) and Singapore ($1/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Zhoushan ($3/mt), Fujairah and Singapore ($2/mt)
• B30-VLSFO at a $265/mt premium over VLSFO in Singapore
• B30-VLSFO at a $284/mt premium over VLSFO in Fujairah

Zhoushan’s VLSFO price has risen by $11/mt in the past day, while prices in Fujairah and Singapore have remained largely unchanged. This puts Zhoushan’s VLSFO at a premium of $19/mt over Fujairah and $18/mt over Singapore.

Zhoushan’s LSMGO price has also risen, up by $14/mt — the sharpest increase among the three major Asian bunker hubs. It now stands at a premium of $61/mt over Singapore and a discount of $19/mt to Fujairah.

Bunker demand in Zhoushan remains subdued, and suppliers continue to advise 4–7 days of lead time for both VLSFO and LSMGO, matching last week’s guidance. In Hong Kong, lead times remain steady at around seven days across all grades.

Across Oman’s ports — Sohar, Salalah, Muscat and Duqm — supply conditions are stable, with LSMGO consistently available for prompt delivery.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has gained by $0.32/bbl on the day, to trade at $61.76/bbl at 17.00 SGT (09.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Brent has rebounded after the previous day’s losses, supported by renewed concerns over disruption to Venezuela-linked oil supply.

Earlier this week, the US Coast Guard seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, that regularly transported US-sanctioned oil on behalf of Venezuela and Iran.

The news has marked a major escalation in geopolitical tensions between the two countries “and threatens up to 560kb/d [560,000 b/d] of crude oil exports,” ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes said.

Washington is preparing to intercept more vessels carrying Venezuelan oil, Reuters reported citing sources. “Shippers may become reluctant to load Venezuelan cargo,” Hynes added.

Downward pressure:

Brent’s price has come under some downward pressure following statements from Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to market analysts.

“He [Zelensky] indicated that the United States wants to understand the status of peace proposals by Christmas, but clarified that there is no firm deadline set by the US regarding these proposals,” remarked Price Futures Group’s senior market analyst Phil Flynn.

Besides, leaders from France, Germany and the UK held a telephone call with US President Donald Trump this week, to discuss efforts to end the four-year long conflict in Ukraine.

A peace deal between Russia and Ukraine could ease global sanctions on Russian energy and bring sanctioned oil volumes back to the market, according to analysts.

By Tuhin Roy and Aparupa Mazumder

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