East of Suez Market Update 25 Feb

Prices in East of Suez ports have moved down, and VLSFO and LSMGO availability is good in Malaysia’s Port Klang.

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 down in Fujairah, Zhoushan ($6/mt) and Singapore ($2/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Zhoushan ($6/mt), Singapore ($4/mt) and Fujairah ($2/mt)
• HSFO prices down in Zhoushan ($11/mt), Singapore ($6/mt) and Fujairah ($5/mt)
• B30-VLSFO prices down in Fujairah ($10/mt) and Singapore ($3/mt)

VLSFO prices across the three major Asian bunker hubs have declined within a narrow band of $2–6/mt over the past day. Singapore’s VLSFO is currently priced at a $7/mt discount to Zhoushan and is roughly at parity with Fujairah.

In Singapore, supply conditions have eased slightly. Recommended lead times for VLSFO have shortened to 6–10 days, down from 8–13 days last week. LSMGO lead times have also declined to 4–9 days, compared with 8–12 days previously. HSFO now requires around 6–12 days, a marginal improvement from 8–12 days last week.

The modest easing is attributed to weaker demand during the Chinese New Year holiday period, which has reduced pressure on supply, according to a source.

Elsewhere in the region, Port Klang reports generally steady availability of VLSFO and LSMGO—particularly for smaller prompt stems—while HSFO remains comparatively tight and more difficult to secure.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has dropped by $0.54/bbl on the day, to trade at $71.06/bbl at 17.00 SGT (09.00 GMT) today.

Upward pressure:

Crude oil supply disruption concerns in the Middle East have provided some support to Brent’s price today.

Currently, the oil market's primary focus is on the upcoming third round of US-Iran nuclear talks – taking place in Geneva tomorrow.

“The rise in geopolitical tensions has taken focus away from the looming glut of oil that the market has been concerned about for several months,” ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes said.

Iran is the fourth-largest OPEC member, producing around 3.2 million b/d of crude oil.

Downward pressure:

Brent’s price has moved lower after the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a huge rise in US crude stocks.

US crude oil inventories gained by a staggering 11.4 million bbls in the week ending 20 February, according to estimates from the API.

The API data was “well above” the 1.9 million-bbl rise that market analysts were expecting, according to two analysts from ING Bank.

A rise in US crude stocks can indicate lower demand for oil and put some downward pressure on Brent's price.

“The more widely followed Energy Information Administration (EIA) report will be released later today,” ING Bank’s analysts said. “A similar crude oil stock build to the API would be the largest build since February 2024,” they further added.

By Tuhin Roy and Aparupa Mazumder

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