Americas Market Update 11 Aug

Fuel prices across the Americas have mostly moved higher, and bunker availability has improved in New York this week.

IMAGE: An aerial view of a container ship passing through New York. The port of New York and New Jersey

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

• VLSFO prices up in Houston ($21/mt), Zona Comun ($20/mt), Balboa ($15/mt) Los Angeles ($13/mt) and New York ($8/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Houston ($32/mt), Balboa ($25/mt), New York ($11/mt) and Los Angeles ($3/mt), and down in Zona Comun ($76/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Balboa ($23/mt), New York ($5/mt) and Houston ($4/mt) and down in Los Angeles ($5/mt)

New York has recorded price gains across all three conventional fuel grades over the past session, with LSMGO leading with an $11/mt increase.

Bunker availability at the East Coast port has improved this week, acording to a trader. Lead times for HSFO and VLSFO are between 4-6 days, while LSMGO can be delivered within 3-5 days.

Bunkering at the port continues without any disruption or congestion.

Meanwhile, at Zona Comun, bunkering operations have faced delays due to high winds in the region, a trader said.

None-the-less, Zona Comun’s VLSFO price has increased over the past session, after a higher-priced, 150-500 mt stem, booked at $789/mt, provided support to the benchmark.

Availability at the port is normal, with most suppliers taking 5-7 days of lead time for VLSFO and LSMGO.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has gained $2.73/bbl on the day, to trade at $87.69/bbl at 08.00 CDT (13.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Brent crude’s price has gained by more than $5/bbl over the last session as the little remaining hope of a swift de-escalation between Washington and Tehran fades.

Iran’s announcement of six sweeping preconditions to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, followed by US President Donald Trump’s response has put upward pressure on oil this week.

Iran would consider reopening the critical waterway after its demands are met, it said earlier. In response, Trump demanded that Iran pay “compensation” to Washington for war-related damages.

“The oil market remains very headline-driven, which leaves prices whipsawing,” two analysts from ING Bank noted.

“The latest bout of optimism is quickly fading, with demands for war reparations from Iran, which President Trump rejected,” ING Bank’s analysts said.

Downward pressure:

While there are no major downward pressures acting on Brent’s price today, market analysts are keeping an eye out for any developments in the Iran-Oman agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Last week, Tehran said it was getting closer to finalising a deal with Oman, regarding jointly managing the Strait of Hormuz.

By Gautamee Hazarika and Aparupa Mazumder

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