Americas Market Update 26 Sep 2025

Bunker fuel prices have mostly moved upwards, and VLSFO and LSMGO supplies have tightened at ports on the East Coast.

IMAGE: Aerial view of dry docks and shipping containers in New York. Getty Images.

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

• VLSFO prices up in Houston ($7/mt), Los Angeles ($4/mt), and down in New York ($15/mt), Balboa ($8/mt) and Zona Comun ($3/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Houston ($10/mt), Balboa ($8/mt), Los Angeles ($7/mt), New York ($5/mt), and down in Zona Comun ($3/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Houston ($6/mt), New York, Los Angeles ($4/mt) and Balboa ($3/mt)

The price of VLSFO at Houston has risen the most among the ports but currently maintains a $21/mt discount to New York, up from $19/mt a month ago.

Both VLSFO and LSMGO supplies are reported to be tight on the East Coast, a bunker trader has told ENGINE.

For New York, deliveries of these two grades require more than five days, while some suppliers in Houston can supply within 3–4 days, at premium pricing.

Meanwhile, at the Panamanian port of Balboa, the price of VLSFO has slipped by $8/mt while HSFO's price has increased by $3/mt, narrowing the Hi5 spread to $25/mt today.

In Panama, demand has been low with only a few enquiries received over the week.

HSFO availability has, however, improved with fresh restocking and can be delivered within 4–5 days. Suppliers are recommending 3-5 days of lead times for VLSFO and LSMGO.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has made a $0.76/bbl gain the past day, trading at $69.65/bbl at 08.00 CDT (13.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Brent’s price has gained on the back of supply concerns in the global oil market.

The price surge follows media reports that Russia may cut diesel exports amid escalating Ukrainian drone strikes on its oil refineries.

The cutback in exports will mainly affect companies that buy diesel inside Russia and then ship it abroad, Bloomberg reported.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict, that started in 2022, has escalated further in recent weeks, with the latter carrying out successive drone strikes targeting Russian refineries, pipelines, and export hubs.

The attacks have dealt a significant blow to Russia’s energy sector – a key contributor to its economy.

“Russia is restricting diesel exports, owing to disruptions at several refineries caused by Ukrainian drone strikes, and may have to curtail crude production,” VANDA Insights’ founder Vandana Hari said.

Downward pressure:

Iraq’s Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani has announced a landmark agreement between Baghdad and the Kurdish regional government in Erbil to restart oil exports from its Kurdish region to Turkey on Saturday, Reuters reported.

Crude flows from the region were interrupted for more than two years, the report added. This news has put some downward pressure on Brent’s price today.

The resumption of crude exports from Iraqi Kurdistan “could return up to 500kb/d [500,000 b/d] to the global market,” remarked ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes.

By Gautamee Hazarika and Aparupa Mazumder

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