Americas Market Update 9 Apr

Fuel prices have moved upward, and bunker deliveries in Zona Comun are currently suspended due to rough weather conditions.

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

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

• VLSFO prices up in Balboa ($88/mt), Houston ($81/mt), Los Angeles ($76/mt), Zona Comun ($68/mt) and New York ($66/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in New York ($164/mt), Balboa ($132/mt), Houston, Zona Comun ($110/mt) and Los Angeles ($107/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Balboa ($127/mt), Houston ($79/mt), New York ($67/mt) and Los Angeles ($61/mt)

Conventional fuel prices across the Americas have increased, tracking Brent's upward movement in the past day.

New York's LSMGO price benchmark has recorded the highest gain for the grade and is currently at a premium of $176/mt to Houston and a small discount of $2/mt to Los Angeles.

Weather conditions at the port of New York are expected to be conducive for bunkering over the weekend, a source said.

Balboa has recorded the highest price increases for both VLSFO and HSFO amongst the ports. The port's HSFO price has gained further, thinning the Hi5 spread to $5/mt today, from $44/mt yesterday.

Recommended lead times for VLSFO and LSMGO are between 3–5 days, while HSFO requires lead times of 4–7 days.

In Zona Comun, bunkering operations are currently suspended due to high wind gusts blowing over 20 knots. Operations are expected to resume later in the day as weather improves, a source said.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has gained $7.28/bbl on the day, to trade at $98.47/bbl at 08.00 CDT (13.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Brent crude prices have rebounded after Iran once again closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to Israeli strikes on Lebanon, raising fresh doubts over the already fragile two-week Middle East ceasefire.

Israel launched its heaviest bombardment of Lebanon so far on Wednesday, causing hundreds of deaths and triggering threats of retaliation from Iran, Reuters reported.

According to Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in a post on X, Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon are among three components of Iran’s 10-point ceasefire proposal that have been violated.

“Prices rebounded as fighting in the Middle East continued, and the ceasefire outlook deteriorated, keeping uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz firmly in focus. Optimism over the ceasefire faded after Tehran said several terms of the agreement had been breached,” two analysts from ING Bank said.

“Oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been halted, heightening supply risks,” they added.

Tensions across the region have not eased despite the ceasefire. Iran has reportedly carried out strikes in neighbouring countries, including targeting a pipeline in Saudi Arabia that serves as an alternative route to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE have also reported missile and drone attacks by Iran, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump stated that American military assets would remain deployed around Iran and warned that Washington would resume “shooting” if Tehran does not fully adhere to the agreement.

Within just a day, the ceasefire already appears fragile, with both sides offering conflicting interpretations of its key provisions and the prospects for a durable peace.

“Concerns the ceasefire will fail to hold are likely to see reluctance by oil exporters and ship owners to put their vessels back into the region in the near term,” Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ Bank, said.

Downward pressure:

Brent crude prices have come under slight downward pressure following the release of the US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) weekly inventory data.

Commercial US crude oil stocks rose by 3.1 million bbls to reach 464.7 million bbls in the week ending 3 April, according to the EIA.

By Gautamee Hazarika and Tuhin Roy

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