Biofuel Bunker Snapshot: Muted appetite clouds China’s UCOME market
ARA’s bio-bunker prices rise with feedstock costs
Chinese UCOME seeing limited buying interest
UK plans 16-55% tariffs on Chinese biodiesel
Rotterdam
The port’s HBE-rebated B30-VLSFO has held steady over the past week.
Prima Markets’ POMEME CIF ARA barge benchmark has risen by $12/mt, though the impact has been offset by a $3/mt decline in ENGINE’s VLSFO price and a $1/mt increase in the HBE rebate for B30 marine biofuels.
HBE-rebated B30-LSMGO has gained $12/mt, supported by a $13/mt rise in the LSMGO benchmark alongside stronger POMEME prices.
Rotterdam’s trend has largely mirrored the wider ARA market, where UCOME-based B30-VLSFO and B30-LSMGO have increased by $1/mt and $13/mt, respectively, in line with a $12/mt jump in Prima’s UCOME FOB ARA barge price.
Singapore
B24-VLSFO UCOME and B24-LSMGO prices in Singapore have edged up by $3–5/mt over the week, mainly driven by $4–6/mt gains in the underlying VLSFO and LSMGO benchmarks.
Prima’s UCOME FOB China cargo benchmark has stayed flat for another week, as muted demand continues to weigh on the market. China’s UCOME market continues to face “poor purchase prospects,” with limited buying interest, Prima reported.
“Other sellers of the renewable fuel said they were holding back on making offers during the midweek session, as they waited for price indications from the buy side, but were seeing no activity,” Prima added.
Other bio-bunker news
Singapore-based Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) conducted six trials of marine biofuel tracer applications in the real-world supply chain. During the trials, a non-fluorescent organic tracer was consistently detected with less than 5% variation between expected and actual values, which made it the most practical solution for detecting biofuel fraud.
The UK Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) has proposed anti-dumping duties on Chinese biodiesel imports, saying they are sold at “unfairly low prices” that are harming domestic producers. It has recommended duties of 15.68% on imports from the Zhuoyue Group and its cooperating exporters, and 54.64% on all other Chinese exporters.
By Konica Bhatt
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