A bunker fuel and oil report, detailing the day per day trading patterns and prices in the market.The report is prepared from OW Risk Management and covers all major bunker fuel oil markets around the world, including all major ports, ranging from Singapore to Rotterdam.

Market in Brief

Crude prices started the week closing lower due to the weaker Chinese exports data. The April Brent futures closed at $108.08/bbl, down -$0.92 and WTI at $101.12/bbl, down -$1.46. Market is also under pressure as refineries are in the seasonally maintenance which normally calls for Crude Oil stocks builts. Also Iraq February Oil production surged 520k b/d pushing the overall OPEC output above the 30mn b/d for the first time in four months and offsetting a slight decline from Saudi Arabia (9,899m b/d vs Jan. 9,916)  as well as the close to 35% drop in Libyan output. These last days market remains in a sideway trading mode and will not be helped by a relatively light economic calendar week. This European morning, despite the lackluster close in the US and no encouraging news from Ukraine, Oil is opening on the positive side.  Watch later today the weekly API with Crude builts expected and draws in Distillates and Gasoline.

Fueloil Specifics

The NWE bunker fuel oil markets reported relatively low demand, good hsfo avails and continuous shortages for lsfo. Delivered 380cst product prices followed weakening Brent values and settled nearly $2/mt down from previous days close. The Singapore fuel oil market rose marginally between flat to +$1.0 during the Asian Platts window yesterday. The delivered bunker premiums softened to between +$2.5 to $3.5 above cargo prices. This morning both markets are trading slightly higher.

Settlement & Indications (mid values)

Product Yesterday's Values   Forward Indications Product Change Last Dir. Apr May Jun Q314 Q414 Q115 NYMEX WTI Swap (1st month) (1,46) 101,12 ↑ 100,66 99,82 98,87 99,78 97,00 94,19 ICE Brent Swap (1st month) (0,92) 108,08 ↑ 107,80 107,47 107,47 107,04 106,03 103,99 ICE Gasoil Swap (1st month) (6,25) 908,25 ↑ 908,08 905,75 903,83 901,50 895,72 - 3.5% Barges FOB Rtdm (2,25) 572,00 ↑ 576,50 576,25 576,00 575,00 570,75 569,25 3.5% Cargoes FOB Med (7,25) 566,00 ↑ 574,50 574,25 574,00 573,00 568,50 567,50 1.0% Cargoes FOB NWE (7,00) 628,25 ↑ 612,75 608,25 606,75 604,25 595,75 586,50 3% no. 6 USGC WB (0,30) 88,90 ↑ 89,90 89,82 89,99 89,56 88,91 88,61 380 CST Cargoes FOB S'pore 1,00 597,25 ↑ 597,75 597,50 597,00 596,75 594,50 593,00 0.1 % GO Barges FOB Rtdm (6,25) 907,25 ↑ 909,25 907,25 905,25 903,25 897,25 - Physical Rotterdam 380 CST (2,00) 574,25 ↑ 581,75 581,50 581,25 580,25 576,00 574,50 Physical Singapore 380 CST (0,50) 602,50 ↑ 603,00 602,75 602,25 602,00 599,75 598,25

Focus of the day: ARA

Despite less volatility, crude still it remains a bit jumpy moving in a 2 dollar range. The equally volatile fuel crack is providing counterweight and keeps the high sulphur price within a 6 dollar range. As there is not a lot of demand, prompt avails look a bit better now for high sulphur. Still it is advised to order timely to ensure best price and the supplier of your liking. For a moment it looked like the low sulphur would come off a bit, but that was just a feint, as it is consequently being assessed well above 70 dollars. It is not expected to come off before we turn the page of the calendar. Buy well in advance remains the advice. Gasoil discounts remain low and still no changes foreseen as the market is well supplied. Notification periods for the different grades; five days for high sulphur enquiries and six working days for low sulphur enquiries.

Economy fundamentals this week

Fundamental Indicators Statistic Importance Date Time Period Consensus Last Actual Wholesale Inventories Medium 11-Mar 10:00 AM Jan 0.3% 0.3% - Treasury Budget Medium 12-Mar 2:00 PM Feb NA -$203.5B - Initial Claims Medium 13-Mar 8:30 AM 08-mar 335K 323K - Retail Sales High 13-Mar 8:30 AM Feb 0.2% -0.4% - Business Inventories Medium 13-Mar 10:00 AM Jan 0.3% 0.5% - Core PPI Medium 14-Mar 8:30 AM Feb 0.1% 0.2% - Mich Sentiment High 14-Mar 9:55 AM Mar 81.6 81.6 -

Source: OW Risk Management