East of Suez Market Update 27 Oct 2025

Prices in East of Suez ports have moved down, and prompt availability of all grades is tight in Fujairah.

IMAGE: Harbour craft in front of an oil tanker in Fujairah. Port of Fujairah

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

• VLSFO prices down in Fujairah ($13/mt), Zhoushan ($7/mt) and Singapore ($5/mt)
• LSMGO prices down in Fujairah ($28/mt), Zhoushan ($15/mt) and Singapore ($13/mt)
• HSFO prices down in Singapore ($7/mt) and Fujairah ($6/mt)
• B30-VLSFO at a $234/mt premium over VLSFO in Singapore
• B30-VLSFO at a $262/mt premium over VLSFO in Fujairah

VLSFO benchmarks across the three main Asian bunker ports have declined by $5–13/mt over the weekend, with Fujairah recording the sharpest drop. Fujairah’s VLSFO is now priced at discounts of $37/mt to Zhoushan and $6/mt to Singapore.

Its LSMGO benchmark has also recorded the largest fall among the three ports, dropping by $28/mt. Despite this, Fujairah’s LSMGO continues to hold premiums of $45/mt over Singapore and $42/mt over Zhoushan.

Bunker supply in Fujairah remains tight across all fuel grades, and suppliers recommend lead times of 5–7 days.

In Iraq’s Basrah, VLSFO and LSMGO are available, though HSFO remains in short supply. In Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah, LSMGO availability has improved from last week, while VLSFO continues to be limited.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has declined by $0.76/bbl on the day from Friday, to trade at $65.09/bbl at 17.00 SGT (09.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Following a sanction-driven rally in the oil market last week, Brent crude has gained further upward momentum after officials from Washington and Beijing sketched out a trade-deal framework, easing US tariff fears and boosting demand growth expectations.

The news has alleviated fears of additional export curbs between the world's two biggest oil consumers that could depress global economic growth, Reuters reported.

“Positive developments in US-China trade talks over the weekend provided a boost to risk assets, including large parts of the commodities complex,” two analysts from ING Bank noted.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with CBS that additional tariffs on China that were supposed to come into effect on 1 November are "effectively off the table" after a "very good two-day meeting" with Beijing's top negotiator.

US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet in South Korea on Thursday.

Downward pressure:

Oil has moved lower after official drilling figures showed an increase in US oil rigs. The total number of oil rigs increased by two over the week to 420, according to Baker Hughes.

The US oil rig count is seen as an indicator of future oil production. It reflects how much oil drilling activity is happening or expected to happen in the shale sector.

Moreover, supply hikes by OPEC+ producers have also weighed on Brent’s price. Earlier this month, eight members of the group agreed to collectively increase their production by another 137,000 b/d in November.

In an oversupplied market, any signal of increased future supply can put downward pressure on Brent’s price.

By Tuhin Roy and Aparupa Mazumder

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