East of Suez Market Update 26 Nov

Prices in East of Suez ports have moved down, and prompt supply is tight in the UAE ports of Fujairah and Khor Fakkan.

IMAGE: Large cargo ships docked to load and unload goods at Khor Fakkan Port, UAE. Getty Images

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

• VLSFO prices down in Zhoushan ($9/mt), Fujairah ($7/mt) and Singapore ($6/mt)
• LSMGO prices down in Singapore ($22/mt), Fujairah ($16/mt) and Zhoushan ($7/mt)
• HSFO prices down in Zhoushan ($8/mt), Singapore ($5/mt) and Fujairah ($2/mt)
• B30-VLSFO at a $264/mt premium over VLSFO in Singapore
• B30-VLSFO at a $281/mt premium over VLSFO in Fujairah

VLSFO prices across the three big Asian bunker hubs slipped by a modest $6–9/mt in the past day. Fujairah's VLSFO is now at a discount of $33/mt to Zhoushan and $4/mt to Singapore.

Prompt supply in Fujairah remains tight across all grades, with low stocks and loading delays continuing despite muted demand. Suppliers are still recommending lead times of 5–7 days, similar to Khor Fakkan.

LSMGO prices have also fallen, with Singapore's benchmark seeing the sharpest drop. Even after the decline, Singapore’s LSMGO commands premiums of $26/mt over Zhoushan and $10/mt over Fujairah. Lead times in Singapore remain mostly steady at around 2–8 days.

In Thailand, Songkhla port is open but operating at limited capacity because of severe regional flooding. Port operations are expected to proceed slowly following a full evacuation order for Hat Yai district, according to GAC Hot Port News.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has dropped by $0.35/bbl on the day, to trade at $62.48/bbl at 17.00 SGT (09.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Brent crude’s price has gained some support after the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a decline in US crude stocks.

Crude oil inventories in the US decreased by 1.9 million bbls in the week ending 21 November, according to the API estimates.

A drop in US crude stocks typically indicates higher demand and can lend some support to Brent's price.

Downward pressure:

Brent crude has edged lower as momentum builds around advancing peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

According to media reports, Ukraine has agreed to the preliminary terms of the revised US-brokered ceasefire proposal to end the conflict – which has continued for nearly four years now.

“Positive signals from both the US and Ukraine regarding a Russia-Ukraine peace deal continue to put pressure on energy markets,” two analysts from ING Bank said.

Oil market analysts now await comments from Moscow. “We are likely to get more colour on Russia’s stance in the coming days,” ING Bank’s analysts added.

By Tuhin Roy and Aparupa Mazumder

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