Americas Market Update 21 Oct

Fuel prices have moved in the downwards direction, and bunker market is steady in Los Angeles.

IMAGE: Cargo containers being offloaded in the Port of Los Angeles. Getty Images

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

• VLSFO prices down in Los Angeles ($27/mt), Balboa ($15/mt), New York ($14/mt), Houston and Zona Comun ($11/mt)
• LSMGO prices down in Los Angeles ($36/mt), New York ($29/mt), Balboa ($28/mt), Houston ($22/mt) and Zona Comun ($10/mt)
• HSFO prices down in Los Angeles ($27/mt), Houston ($23/mt), New York ($16/mt) and Balboa ($2/mt)

Prices of all conventional grades have decreased across major ports in the Americas, tracking Brent’s downward movement.

Los Angeles’ HSFO and VLSFO prices have declined by the same amount, keeping the port’s Hi5 spread unchanged over the past session, at $156/mt. Its VLSFO is now at premiums of $273/mt to Houston and $249/mt to New York.

The bunker demand has been steady in Los Angeles and Long Beach, and the weather at both ports is conducive to deliveries.

LSMGO availability is normal at the ports, with lead times of 4-5 days. VLSFO and HSFO availability is tight, with lead times stretching to a week, and is expected to tighten further, a source said.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has lost $2.2/bbl on the day, trading at $108.18/bbl at 08.00 CDT (13.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, discussed with Pakistan’s army chief, mediation efforts to resolve the Middle East crisis in Tehran on Tuesday, but took a hard line, saying there would be no talks with Washington until its demands to reopen the Strait of Hormuz were met, according to media reports.

Brent continues to trade above $110/bbl as security risks persist for vessels passing through the strait. Ship-tracking firm Kpler reported on Monday that at least 18 vessels had been attacked in the region over the past two weeks.

“While Persian Gulf oil flows improved in the second week of October, the recovery looks under threat amid the increased attacks, with preliminary data pointing to another slowdown,” ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes said.

US crude oil stocks dropped by 4.93 million bbls in the week ending 16 October, according to estimates from the American Petroleum Institute (API), as cited by Trading Economics. A decline in US crude stocks usually signals stronger demand and can offer some support to Brent’s price.

Downward pressure:

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is prepared to coordinate further releases of oil from emergency stocks with its member countries, Reuters reported, citing IEA executive director Fatih Birol.

The agency announced last week that its member countries had collectively released about 330 million bbls of crude oil and petroleum products from strategic reserves so far, amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

By Gautamee Hazarika and Shilpa Sharma

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