Americas Market Update 2 Oct

Bunker fuel prices have moved in mixed directions across the Americas, while bunker demand has picked up in Houston.

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

• VLSFO prices up in Zona Comun ($20/mt), Balboa ($11/mt), Houston ($9/mt) and Los Angeles ($1/mt), and down in New York ($2/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Zona Comun ($63/mt), New York ($31/mt) and Balboa ($3/mt), and down in Los Angeles ($137/mt) and Houston ($3/mt)
• HSFO prices up in New York ($14/mt), Houston ($2/mt) and Balboa ($1/mt), and down in Los Angeles ($5/mt)

Zona Comun's VLSFO and LSMGO prices have recorded the biggest gains for both grades across major ports in the Americas. A higher-priced, 150-500 mt VLSFO stem has been fixed at $892/mt for delivery at the anchorage.

Los Angeles' LSMGO price has posted a massive daily fall. Lower-priced LSMGO and VLSFO quotations, at $1,527/mt and $991/mt, have put downward pressure on both grades. One supplier at the port can deliver VLSFO and LSMGO nine days out at the earliest, a trader said.

Houston's VLSFO quotations for 500-1,500 mt have spanned a wide $718-775/mt range over the past day, while LSMGO has been quoted at $1,347-1,472/mt for 50-150 mt. One supplier at the port has a tighter delivery schedule as demand has picked up for dates 2-3 weeks out, a trader said.

Two suppliers can deliver VLSFO and LSMGO in Bolivar Roads for dates 10-11 days out, a trader said. Both grades have been available with a notice of one day in Freeport in the Bahamas this week.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has lost $0.51/bbl on the day, trading at $99.29/bbl at 08.00 CDT (13.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Brent crude's price has held fairly steady amid mounting security concerns in the Middle East.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) has established a new unit in the region, called Task Force Falcon, to deploy one-way attack drones "from above, on, and below the sea."

Military support staff from the US and regional partners, including Bahrain, will jointly conduct the operation, CENTCOM said.

"Crude oil gained as tensions rose in the Middle East," ANZ Bank's senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes said.

The development comes amid news that Washington has sent a third aircraft carrier and an additional marine expeditionary unit of up to 10,000 more troops to the Middle East.

"The prospect of renewed attacks by the US were heightened follow a report in the Wall Street Journal that it was sending a third aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East," Hynes added.

Downward pressure:

Brent crude's price has come under downward pressure following reports that Saudi Arabia has resumed crude oil loadings at its Red Sea terminal of Yanbu.

Saudi Arabia has resumed oil tanker loadings from the port of Yanbu after restarting operations on the East-West Pipeline, Reuters reported.

Tanker loadings at Yanbu came to an abrupt halt last month, following a drone attack on the key pipeline.

"Oil prices edged lower in early trading… as recovering Middle East export flows helped ease supply concerns," two analysts from ING Bank noted.

By Erik Hoffmann and Aparupa Mazumder

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