HSFO splits from the board: Fujairah up $34.67 and Singapore up $29 while VLSFO falls at most ports

The grades moved in opposite directions today. HSFO rose at Fujairah (667.50, +34.67), Singapore (753.50, +29), Los Angeles (849.50, +48), Busan (890, +25), Norfolk (715, +25) and Port Louis (962, +80), while VLSFO fell across the main hubs: Rotterdam 686 (-14), Singapore 867.50 (-9), Fujairah 951.50 (-8.50), Houston 730 (-9). MGO was broadly lower, with Kingston down 145 to 1587, New Orleans down 145 to 1453, Hamburg down 80 to 1372 and Vancouver down 105 to 1557.

The east-west VLSFO spread is worth pricing through. Rotterdam at 686 against Singapore at 867.50 is a 181.50 spread. On a 1,200 tonne stem that is 217,800 dollars of headline difference between the two bunkering points. Against that, one day of deviation on a mid-size hull at 15,000 dollars hire is 15,000, plus the fuel burned getting there — so the spread survives only if the deviation is short and the stem is large. The same check applies to Hamburg VLSFO at 649.50, the lowest major-hub VLSFO on the board, 218 against Singapore.

Brent is 101.38 and WTI 89.96, with EU carbon at 84.42 euros per tonne. Attention this week is on Hormuz and on Saudi crude pricing to Asia; Rotterdam's B30-VLSFO premium over VLSFO is also a topic the market is watching.