Singapore’s VLSFO price falls below $900/mt to around $890/mt

The price has fallen by around $100/mt since late October amid growing hopes for peace, but remains almost double its level a year ago.

Singapore’s VLSFO price has fallen by around $40/mt today to approximately $890/mt, its lowest level in several weeks. This puts it around $100/mt below Friday’s level of about $1,000/mt. Hopes of progress in talks to end the US-Israeli war with Iran have weighed on crude prices.

The price is now below October’s average of about $930/mt. That was up from about $860/mt in September and was the highest monthly average since July 2022. The price climbed from around $830/mt on 1 October to about $1,000/mt on 30 October.

A year ago, VLSFO was around $460/mt, and it averaged about $460/mt in October last year. Brent futures traded in the mid-$60s/bbl then. Brent settled above $100/bbl on every trading day this October.

Crude has set the direction. ICE Brent’s January contract settled at about $105/bbl on Monday, down from around $113/bbl on Friday, on hopes of progress in peace talks. Washington and Tehran are still far from a deal, however, and have yet to agree terms for fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Tight supply has been supporting prices. Singapore’s fuel oil inventories remain constrained, while VLSFO lead times stood at around 13 days on Friday, with some suppliers advising lead times of more than three weeks.

By Tuhin Roy

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