Europe & Africa Market Update 19 Nov 2025

Benchmark fuel prices in key European and African ports have moved in mixed directions, and availability is stable off Malta.

IMAGE: Tankers during a bunker operation off Malta. Getty Images

Changes on the day to 09.00 GMT today:

• VLSFO prices up in Rotterdam ($3/mt), Gibraltar ($2/mt) and Durban ($1/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Rotterdam ($10/mt) and Gibraltar ($9/mt)
• HSFO prices down in Rotterdam ($3/mt), unchanged in Durban, and down in Gibraltar ($2/mt)
• Rotterdam B30-VLSFO premium over VLSFO up by $17/mt to $279/mt
• Gibraltar B30-VLSFO premium over VLSFO up by $3/mt to $344/mt

LSMGO prices at Rotterdam and Gibraltar have risen more sharply than VLSFO, widening the grade’s premiums over VLSFO by $7/mt at both ports.

Off Malta, LSMGO price has increased by $13/mt in a single day, with a 50-150 mt higher-priced stem, fixed at $807/mt, probably providing some support.

Demand has been soft off Malta this week, while fuel availability is normal, a trader said. Most suppliers require 1-3 days of lead time for all fuel grades, the trader added. 

Westerly and north-westerly wind gusts of more than 25 knots, and waves of above 2.5 metres are forecast off Malta on 22 November, which may disrupt operations in bunkering areas, with Area 3 and Area 6 most exposed to winds from that direction.

Meanwhile in Gibraltar, the backlog from the recent weather disruptions is still causing some congestion at the port, with around 14 vessels currently awaiting bunkers at the port and most suppliers running a day behind schedule, port agent MH Bland said.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has gained by $0.48/bbl on the day, to trade at $64.37/bbl at 09.00 GMT.

Upward pressure:

Oil prices have risen as supply risks have emerged as the dominant driver of the global oil market.

The European Union’s (EU) renewed hardline stance on Russia has revived concerns about the possibility of tighter sanctions on the OPEC+ group.

Top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas remarked yesterday that Moscow’s aggression against the EU, including an explosion in Poland, should be treated as terrorism, Bloomberg reported.

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday that foreign intelligence services orchestrated an explosion on a railway line used to transport aid to Ukraine. Later, spokesman Jacek Dobrzynski said that "everything points to them being Russian special services", according to a BBC report.

“Language markets interpreted [Kallas’ comments] as raising the odds of further sanctions,” VANDA Insights’ founder Vandana Hari said.

These remarks come as the US sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil producers – Lukoil and Rosneft – are set to take effect shortly.

“Market participants appear more concerned about supply risks than the odds of a surplus going forward,” two analysts from ING Bank remarked.

Downward pressure:

The latest crude stocks report by the American Petroleum Institute (API) has put some downward pressure on Brent’s price today.

US crude oil inventories gained by 4.4 million bbls in the week ending 14 November, according to the API.

This was the third straight weekly build in inventories. A build in US crude stocks typically indicates lower demand for oil and can put downward pressure on Brent.

“The market will be more focused on the release of the widely followed US Energy Information Administration (EIA) inventory numbers later today,” ING Bank’s analysts said.

By Nachiket Tekawade & Aparupa Mazumder

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