Europe & Africa Market Update 6 Mar

Prices of conventional fuel grades have increased across European and African ports, while bunker availability is tight in Las Palmas.

IMAGE: Ships docked in the Port of Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain. Getty Images

Changes on the day to 09.00 GMT today:

• VLSFO prices up in Durban ($20/mt), Rotterdam ($12/mt) and Gibraltar ($8/mt)
• LSMGO prices up in Gibraltar ($102/mt) and Rotterdam ($29/mt)
• HSFO prices up in Durban ($39/mt), Gibraltar ($29/mt) and Rotterdam ($13/mt)
• B30-VLSFO prices up in Gibraltar ($45/mt) and Rotterdam ($16/mt)

Bunker prices at major European and African ports have gained in the past day, tracking the rise in Brent.

Gibraltar’s LSMGO price has jumped around $102/mt in the past session. A higher-priced 150-500 mt stem fixed at $1,169/mt has provided support to the benchmark.

With a comparatively lesser gain of $41/mt, Las Palmas' LSMGO is now trading at a $40/mt discount to Gibraltar, compared to a $21/mt premium seen yesterday.

The HSFO price at Las Palmas is almost at par with Gibraltar, while its VLSFO price offers a discount of around $15/mt to Gibraltar.

Availability of all fuel grades is tight in Las Palmas, a trader said.

Operations at the outer anchorages of Las Palmas are cancelled due to high swells of more than 2.5 metres, port agent MH Bland said. However, bunkering operations can be carried out in the inner anchorage and the berth, but are delayed, the port agent added.

Brent

The front-month ICE Brent contract has gained by $1.68/bbl on the day, to trade at $85.19/bbl at 09.00 GMT.

Upward pressure:

The US and Israel’s large-scale military actions on Iran has continued to dominate oil market sentiment this week.

In the latest round of cross-border firing, the Israeli military has launched air strikes on Hezbollah-administered areas in Lebanon, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, Iran said it ​targeted Tel Aviv with several missiles, the report added.

Earlier this week, a commercial ship anchored at 30 nautical miles (NM) south-east of the port of Mubarak Al Kabeer in Kuwait, reported a strike resulting in oil leakage from a cargo tank, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

“Oil is not just a commodity. It is a confidence asset. And confidence begins to fracture the moment traders see tankers themselves becoming targets,” SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said.

Downward pressure:

The US Department of Treasury (DoT) has issued a 30-day waiver allowing India to resume some purchase of Russian crude oil amid the ongoing US-Israel conflict with Iran.

This news has added some downward pressure on Brent today, according to two analysts from ING Bank.

The measure only allows transactions involving oil already stranded at sea, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said.

“The waiver allows the sale of Russian crude and products to India that were loaded onto vessels before 5 March and remains valid until 4 April,” ING Bank’s analysts said. “This essentially allows floating Russian oil to reach India,” they added.

By Nachiket Tekawade and Aparupa Mazumder

Please get in touch with comments or additional info to news@engine.online