East of Suez Market Update 17 Nov 2025

Prices in East of Suez ports have moved in mixed directions, and availability is good across all grades in Zhoushan.

IMAGE: Aerial view of Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China. Getty Images

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

• VLSFO prices up in Zhoushan ($3/mt), and down in Fujairah ($3/mt) and Singapore ($2/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Fujairah ($4/mt), unchanged in Zhoushan, and down in Singapore ($3/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Fujairah ($3/mt), and down in Zhoushan ($6/mt) and Singapore ($1/mt)
• B30-VLSFO at a $262/mt premium over VLSFO in Singapore

Prices across the three major Asian bunker ports have stayed broadly steady over the weekend, with no significant changes. Zhoushan’s VLSFO is priced at a premium of $33/mt over Fujairah and $27/mt over Singapore.

Zhoushan's VLSFO price has remained largely stable over the weekend, while its HSFO price has fallen by $6/mt. This has widened the port's Hi5 spread by $9/mt to $98/mt — similar to Fujairah’s but above Singapore’s $80/mt.

Bunker demand in Zhoushan remains weak. Most suppliers continue to advise lead times of 4–6 days for VLSFO, the same as last week. LSMGO lead times are also unchanged at 4–6 days. Recommended lead times for HSFO have increased from 4–6 days last week, to 5–7 days now.

Bunker operations at the outer Tiaozhoumen and Xiazhimen anchorages have been suspended since 8 November because of bad weather, a source said. Deliveries at Xiushandong, which had been paused since Monday last week, briefly resumed over the weekend but were suspended again. Bunkering at the inner Mazhi anchorage is proceeding normally. Most suppliers expect full operations across Zhoushan to restart on Wednesday.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has gained by $0.18/bbl on the day from Friday, to trade at $63.89/bbl at 17.00 SGT (09.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Supply-side risks have added upward pressure on Brent crude over the weekend.

A major drone attack damaged an oil depot and a vessel in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk in Russia last week. The strike supported Brent's upward movement.

“About 700kb/d [700,000 b/d] of Russian oil were shipped from there [Novorossiysk port] over the past two months,” according to ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes.

Meanwhile, loadings at the Novorossiysk port resumed on Sunday, Reuters reported.

Iran seized an oil tanker en route to Singapore in the strategically important Strait of Hormuz on Friday – marking the first major escalation of tensions since the Iran-Israel conflict earlier in June.

The Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker Talara was seized by Iran in the Gulf of Oman after crossing the Strait of Hormuz from Ajman in the UAE, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

The oil market is “facing growing supply risks amid a variety of geopolitical risks,” two analysts from ING Bank remarked.

Downward pressure:

The total number of rigs drilling for crude oil in the US rose by three last week to 417 units, according to Baker Hughes.

The US oil rig count is seen as an indicator of future oil production. It reflects how much oil drilling activity is happening or expected to happen in the shale sector.

Oversupply concerns, as OPEC+ members steadily restore production, have also capped Brent’s price gains.

The Saudi Arabia-led coalition agreed to collectively increase supply by 137,000 b/d in December – marking the eighth consecutive time it has planned to expedite production.

By Tuhin Roy and Aparupa Mazumder

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