Americas Market Update 27 Feb

Fuel prices have moved in mixed directions, and bunker deliveries in GOLA are likely to face delays over the weekend.

IMAGE: Containers stacked on a freight ship in a port in Argentina. Getty Images.

Changes on the day to 09.00 GMT today:

• VLSFO prices up in Los Angeles ($12/mt), Houston, New York ($6/mt) and Zona Comun ($5/mt), and down in Balboa ($4/mt)
  
• LSMGO prices up in Zona Comun ($16/mt), New York ($15/mt) and Balboa ($6/mt), and down in Houston ($23/mt) and Los Angeles ($2/mt)
• HSFO prices up in New York ($4/mt), Houston ($2/mt) and Balboa ($1/mt), and unchanged in Los Angeles

Houston's LSMGO price has recorded the steepest decline across all three grades after a lower-priced 50–150 mt stem was fixed at $669/mt, putting downward pressure on the benchmark.

Bunker demand in Houston has held firm over the week. Lead times of 7–10 days for HSFO and VLSFO and 5–7 days for LSMGO is recommended.

Seasonal fog in the US Gulf Coast region has continued to cause intermittent port closures over the past week, resulting in delivery backlogs, a source said.

In the nearby Galveston Offshore Lightering Area (GOLA), bunker deliveries may face delays through Sunday due to high wind gusts blowing through the anchorage.

Meanwhile, at Balboa, the HSFO price has gained in the past day, while its VLSFO price has declined, narrowing its Hi5 spread to $109/mt today from $113/mt on Thursday.

All three conventional grades have remained tight for prompt delivery this week, with lead times ranging between 5–7 days.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has increased by $0.35/bbl on the day, to trade at $71.18/bbl at 09.00 GMT.

Upward pressure:

Brent crude’s price has remained largely steady after the US and Iran extended nuclear negotiations, with market analysts expecting further rounds of indirect talks to come soon.

Representatives from both countries met in Geneva yesterday, to discuss Tehran’s uranium enrichment program, after US President Donald Trump threatened military actions against the OPEC member.

The US has demanded for the handover of all 60% enriched uranium to it, according to Reuters.

“Before talks ended, Iran’s state media reported that Tehran won’t allow enriched uranium to leave the country,” ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes wrote.

Washington has not released any official statement regarding the progress of the meeting. Besides, there is “little time to reach a deal before President Trump’s deadline of 1–6 March,” Hynes said.

Negotiations are expected to resume next week in Vienna, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

Oman is the mediator in the ongoing discussions. “Rising tensions between the US and Iran have reminded the oil market that geopolitical risks should not be ignored,” Hynes added.

Downward pressure:

Saudi Arabia-led OPEC group is expected to increase oil output by 137,000 b/d for April in its upcoming meeting on 1 March – changing course from a three-month pause in hikes, Reuters reported.

This news has put some downward pressure on Brent’s price today.

The Vienna-headquartered coalition had implemented hikes of 137,000 b/d in 2025, before deciding to pause the increases for the first quarter of this year – a move likely to withhold a surplus in the global oil market, according to analysts.

By Gautamee Hazarika and Aparupa Mazumder

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