MABUX: Bunker market this morning, July 26
The Bunker Review was contributed by Marine Bunker Exchange
MABUX World Bunker Index (consists of a range of prices for 380 HSFO, 180 HSFO and MGO (Gasoil) in the main world hubs) changed insignificant and irregular on July 25:
380 HSFO – USD/MT – 417.64 (-3.42)
180 HSFO – USD/MT – 454.80 (-2.88)
MGO – USD/MT – 659.26 (+0.74)
Meantime, world oil indexes changed also irregular on Jul.25 supported by rising tensions between the West and Iran.
Brent for September settlement increased by $0.21 to $63.39 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. West Texas Intermediate for September delivery gained $0.14 to $56.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The Brent benchmark traded at the premium of $7.37 to WTI. Gasoil for August lost $4.25.
Today morning oil indexes does not have any firm trend so far.
Iran has rejected UK plans to coordinate a European force to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, with the country’s President Hassan Rouhani saying on Jul.24 his country will not allow any shipping disruptions in the key waterway. The UK is attempting to build a European-led force protecting free navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and gained initial support from France, Italy and Denmark while the US has been sending mixed signals on this. Iran has previously issued threats to close or disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, should the US sanctions block its oil shipments. The Strait of Hormuz is a critical chokepoint through which 30% of the world’s seaborne oil transits.
North Korea test-fired two new short-range missiles on Jul.25, the first such launch since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to revive stalled denuclearization talks last month. It was not clear if the missiles used ballistic technology which would be a breach of U.N. Security Council resolutions targeting North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons programs. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho had been expected to meet on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian security forum in Bangkok next week, but Ri had canceled his trip.
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia announced that they have had further discussions about their cooperation in the jointly owned fields known as the Partitioned Neutral Zone. The shared oil fields can produce a half a million barrels of oil per day. Talks between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia on the joint fields began last month in hopes of putting the old territorial dispute behind them in order to exploit the oil riches in the shared field. Production has been shut in in the field since the end of 2014.
China has issued the third batch of 2019 quotas for a total of 56 million mt of refined oil exports under ordinary trade and processing trade in 2019, an increase of eight million mt from a total of 48 million mt for 2018. It may issue quotas for over 60 million mt of refined oil exports through 2019. The country is expected to boost gasoline exports more significantly later this year, as the domestic market is seriously oversupplied and only half of the first two batches of gasoline quotas have been used. China may also raise the share of gasoline quotas later this year to encourage export.
Ukraine’s security services detained a Russian oil tanker Neyma that had blocked in November Ukrainian warships near Crimea. The November 2018 incident was the first open conflict between Russian and Ukrainian militaries in recent years. Tensions had been rising over the access to the Kerch Strait, where the incident took place, and the Sea of Azov. Ukraine said that it believes that the Neyma was the same ship with a changed name that took part in the seizure of the Ukrainian ships in November. As per Ukraina, the investigation found that the Neyma tanker changed its name to Nika Spirit to conceal its involvement in the “illegal acts and an act of aggression that took place on November 25, 2018.
We expect bunker prices may continue irregular changes today in a range of plus-minus 3-5 USD.
