Americas Market Update 15 Dec

Fuel prices have moved in mixed directions, and dense fog led to the closure of the Houston Ship Channel over the weekend.

IMAGE: Cranes loading a container ship at a marine terminal in New York. Getty Images.

Changes on the day from Friday to 07.00 CST (13.00 GMT) today:

• VLSFO prices up in New York ($13/mt) and Zona Comun ($11/mt), unchanged in Houston, and down in Los Angeles ($3/mt) and Balboa ($1/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in New York ($20/mt), Houston ($3/mt) and Zona Comun ($1/mt), and down in Balboa ($15/mt) and Los Angeles ($8/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Balboa ($13/mt), and down in New York, Los Angeles ($3/mt) and Houston ($1/mt)

New York’s LSMGO price has posted the strongest gain over the past session, while the grade’s price in Los Angeles has dipped, placing New York at a premium of $34/mt today.

At the beginning of the year, Los Angeles’s LSMGO price was at a modest premium of $8/mt over New York, while Houston was at a much higher premium of $52/mt. Since then, Houston’s price has fallen sharply and is now at a discount of $106/mt to New York.

Along the US Gulf Coast, dense fog has reduced visibility across the region.

Over the weekend, both, the Houston Ship Channel and the Sabine-Neches Waterway, suspended traffic due to poor visibility.

Traffic has since resumed, but weather-related closures remain possible. This can lead to possible delays at ports in the area, a bunker trader has told ENGINE.

In Argentina, potential delays to bunker deliveries at Zona Común are expected until 16 December due to strong wind gusts at the anchorage.

This week, VLSFO and LSMGO barges require lead times of at least 7–8 days, a source said.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has lost $0.28/bbl on the day from Friday, to trade at $60.93/bbl at 07.00 CST (13.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Escalating geopolitical tensions have provided some support to Brent crude’s price over the weekend.

Last week, US President Donald Trump-led government announced fresh sanctions on six oil tankers transporting Venezuelan crude, following the seizure of a tanker off Venezuela's coast.

“President Trump announced new sanctions on three of Venezuelan President Maduro’s nephews as well as six oil tankers,” ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes said.

The news has raised some supply concerns, according to market analysts. “Until this latest escalation, Venezuela had been raising its oil exports,” Hynes said.

The oil market is also facing heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine, “despite the US still pushing for a peace deal,” he further added.

Downward pressure:

Weighing on Brent’s price, the total number of rigs drilling for crude oil in the US rose by one last week to 414 units, 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.

Additionally, recent projections by energy agencies have revived concerns over a potential supply glut – putting downward pressure on Brent’s price.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) sees global oil supply to grow by 3.3 million b/d to average 106.2 million b/d in 2025 and rise by about 2.4 million b/d to average 108.6 million b/d in 2026.

“Crude oil also fell as weakness in US equity markets added to bearish sentiment about oversupply,” Hynes noted.

Meanwhile, US-based Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects global liquid fuels production to grow by 3 million b/d to reach 106.1 million b/d in 2025 and by another 1.3 million b/d to touch 107.4 million b/d next year.

By Gautamee Hazarika and Aparupa Mazumder

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