HSFO firmer at most hubs; Fujairah residual and distillates slide; SF VLSFO takes the day's biggest move

MARINE FUEL BOARD — 20 OCTOBER 2026

Brent 110.04, WTI 98.90 — the gap between the two benchmarks is 11.14/bbl — EU carbon at 85.40/tonne. HSFO closed higher at most ports with a published move: Rotterdam 672.5 (+25.5), Singapore 907.5 (+17), Los Angeles 913.5 (+26.5), New York 630 (+13.5). Fujairah went the other way, 678.47 after a 74.53 fall, the only big residual hub down. The watchlist is weighted to US sanctions policy on dark-fleet tankers — three items — with ethanol bunkering, a Singapore LNG bunker price note and a hydrogen sulphide safety piece behind them.

Distillates fell across a broad band: Fujairah MGO −117.5 to 1606.5, Port Said −115 to 1587, Port Louis −110 to 1807, Haldia −97 to 1798, Chennai and Tuticorin −90 to 1585, Vancouver −85 to 1472, and a Baltic–North Sea cluster down 53.75 to 63.25. Against that, Bergen MGO +126.75 to 1703.75, Los Angeles +102.5 to 1699, Durban +178.5 to 2230.5. The largest single move on the board is San Francisco VLSFO, +333.75 to 941.25.

What the spreads are worth once bought. Houston HSFO 601 against Singapore 907.5 is 306.50/mt; on a 1,200 t stem that is $367,800 of headline difference. One day of deviation on a mid-size hull is $15,000 of hire plus the fuel burned getting there — 30 t at the Houston price is $18,030 — so $33,030 for the day, 33,030 ÷ 367,800 ≈ 9% of the headline. Two days is $66,060. The arithmetic counts only those two items. Elsewhere: Rotterdam VLSFO−HSFO is 83.00 and Singapore 26.50, Fujairah 288.53; Santos HSFO 511 is the lowest residual print, Durban MGO 2230.5 the highest distillate print, 958.00 over Singapore MGO.