East of Suez Market Update 13 Jan

Most prices in East of Suez ports have moved up, and VLSFO and HSFO availability is tight in Singapore.

IMAGE: An old wooden cargo ship setting out from Port Klang. Getty Images

Changes on the day, to 17.00 SGT (09.00 GMT) today:

• VLSFO prices up in Singapore (8/mt), Fujairah ($7/mt), and down in Zhoushan ($1/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Singapore ($10/mt), Fujairah and Zhoushan ($5/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Singapore ($5/mt), Fujairah ($4/mt), and down in Zhoushan ($4/mt)
• B30-VLSFO prices up in Fujairah ($2/mt), and down in Singapore ($3/mt)

VLSFO prices in Singapore and Fujairah have increased by a narrow $7–8/mt in the past day, while the grade's price in Zhoushan has remained broadly stable. Singapore’s VLSFO is at a modest premium of $8/mt over Fujairah, but at a notable discount of $20/mt to Zhoushan.

In Singapore, VLSFO availability has tightened sharply, with most suppliers now advising lead times of around 7–11 days, up from 2–7 days last week. LSMGO continues to be readily available, with lead times remaining steady at 3–6 days. HSFO supply remains tight, typically requiring 7–12 days of advance notice, largely unchanged from last week’s 7–11 days.

At Port Klang, both VLSFO and LSMGO are generally well supplied, especially for smaller prompt stems, while HSFO availability remains constrained and more challenging to secure.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has gained by $1.41/bbl on the day, to trade at $64.61/bbl at 17.00 SGT (09.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Escalating political unrest in Iran has pushed Brent crude’s price close to $65/bbl.

US President Donald Trump has vowed to impose 25% tariff on all imports from countries that are still “doing business” with Iran, amid nationwide protests demanding a change in regime in the Islamic Republic.

“Crude oil prices were steady as the market frets about the potential impact of rising unrest in Iran on oil supplies,” ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes said.

If imposed, the tariff could strain Washington’s ties with Iran’s trade partners, including major economies such as India, Turkey and China, according to market analysts.

“The possible disruption of almost 2mb/d [2 million b/d] has tempered concerns over a global glut of oil,” Hynes added.

Downward pressure:

Brent’s price has felt some downward pressure following news that Venezuela is expected to resume oil exports soon.

“US President Trump signed an executive order to safeguard the Latin American [Venezuela] country’s oil revenue held in US Treasury accounts from the nation’s creditors,” Hynes said.

Last week, Trump said Venezuela’s interim administration will turn over about 50 million bbls of sanctioned oil, to be sold at the market price.

By Tuhin Roy and Aparupa Mazumder

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