Americas Market Update 10 Sep

Fuel prices have moved in the upwards direction, and port of New York is seeing steady bunker demand.

IMAGE: Brooklyn waterfront with shipping containers and cranes. Getty Images

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

• VLSFO prices up in Zona Comun ($32/mt), Los Angeles ($29/mt), Houston ($21/mt), New York ($17/mt), and down in Balboa ($5/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Los Angeles ($65/mt), Houston ($48/mt), Zona Comun ($42/mt), Balboa ($39/mt) and New York ($27/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Los Angeles ($36/mt), Houston ($22/mt), Balboa ($17/mt) and New York ($12/mt)

Balboa's VLSFO price has been an outlier, dropping over the past day despite Brent's significant gain.

A lower-priced, 150-500 mt stem, booked at $734/mt, might have weighed on the benchmark.

Panama has seen good demand, with HSFO and VLSFO available at the ports of Balboa and Cristobal within 5-6 days, while LSMGO can be supplied within 3-4 days.

Over at New York, the price of VLSFO has increased more than HSFO, widening the port's Hi5 spread to $235/mt today from $230/mt on Wednesday.

Demand has been steady at the port for HSFO and VLSFO. LSMGO offtake however has eased slightly in recent weeks, a source said. Availability has been decent, with HSFO requiring 5-7 days' lead time, VLSFO around four days, and LSMGO 2-3 days.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has gained by $4.26/bbl on the day, trading at $104.90/bbl at 08.00 CDT (13.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Brent crude’s price is trading above the $100/bbl mark for the first time in two months, as the global oil market continues to price in persistent geopolitical risk, with tensions between the US and Iran showing no viable path to de‑escalation.

“If anything, current signals point to further escalation, keeping upside pressure firmly in place,” two analysts from ING Bank said.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it has destroyed 10 Iranian oil tankers over the past week that were part of Tehran’s “multibillion-dollar” shadow fleet network funding the IRGC.

“Oil prices continued to climb, with Brent breaking above $100/bbl, as prospects for de-escalation between the US and Iran remained elusive, raising concerns over the security of energy flows,” ING Bank’s analysts said.

Downward pressure:

While Brent’s price is under limited downward pressures today, market participants await US Energy Information Administration (EIA) crude inventory data, scheduled for release tomorrow.

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

The crude stocks report has been delayed this week due to the US Labour Day holiday.

By Gautamee Hazarika and Aparupa Mazumder

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