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

On Friday Brent Crude managed to close for a second day higher -which did not happen for nearly a month. Crude values were lifted by a weaker US dollar against the Euros. The US March consumer sentiment index dipped sharply while the inflation was higher than expected which softened a bit the optimism on the US economy. The April WTI contract settled at $93.45/bbl, up +$0.42 and May Brent up only +$0.86 at $109.82/bbl. The surprise decision on Friday to levy a tax on all deposit in Cyprus banks imposed by the EU in exchange of a bailout is sending Oil lower this morning. To avoid a huge panic the Cyprus government is thinking to give an extra holiday day tomorrow. The Euros came off sharply and Crude Oil is trading more than 1% down.

Fueloil Specifics

The Northwest European fuel oil markets closed last week with higher prices and reduced buying interest. Delivered 380cst product in Rotterdam was assessed app. $7/mt up while Antwerp reported app.$6/mt higher prices versus previous day’s close. Prompt product was offered at higher premiums with some suppliers fully booked throughout weekend. The Singapore fuel oil market rebounded last Friday during the morning Platts window, up more than +$4.0. The Asian Fuel Oil crack is getting narrower as supply is getting tighter with lower incoming cargoes. The delivered bunker premiums were lower, ranging between $1.5 to $4.5 above cargo prices. Bunker fuel oil swaps gained up to $9.5/mt at the front of the forward curve both for Rotterdam and Singapore papers. Backend was slightly weaker, with cal 2014 papers gaining app.$6/mt. This morning both markets are trading down.

Settlement & Indications (mid values)

Product Yesterday's Values Forward Indications Product Change Last Dir. Apr May Jun Q313 Q413 2014 NYMEX WTI Swap (1st month) 0,42 93,45 ↓ 93,06 93,33 93,45 92,87 91,96 90,22 ICE Brent Swap (1st month) 0,40 109,82 ↓ 108,35 107,80 107,25 106,10 104,47 101,17 ICE Gasoil Swap (1st month) 8,25 918,00 ↓ 913,08 913,75 914,08 913,81 908,17 887,74 3.5% Barges FOB Rtdm 4,50 606,00 ↓ 601,25 599,50 597,75 594,25 591,00 576,75 3.5% Cargoes FOB Med 5,50 601,25 ↓ 595,75 596,00 595,00 590,25 584,00 572,75 1.0% Cargoes FOB NWE 6,50 623,00 ↓ 621,00 625,25 626,00 623,75 618,50 604,75 3% no. 6 USGC WB 1,04 97,09 ↓ 95,00 94,75 94,25 93,75 92,75 88,25 380 CST Cargoes FOB S'pore 4,50 633,75 ↓ 625,00 622,50 621,25 618,50 614,25 602,50 0.1 % GO Barges FOB Rtdm 8,50 915,50 ↓ 914,25 915,25 915,25 914,25 909,25 889,25 Physical Rotterdam 380 CST 7,00 611,00 ↓ 608,50 606,75 605,00 601,50 596,25 584,00 Physical Singapore 380 CST 2,50 637,50 ↓ 632,75 630,25 629,00 626,25 622,00 610,25

Focus of the day: Gibraltar

The Gibraltar Strait is open for bunkering operations and running smoothly with no congestion after some rather challenging days operations wise. There are good product avails at the three ports even if some suppliers are fully booked for prompt deliveries. CIF Med 3.5% is trading some 9.5 usd above FOB Barges Rotterdam and the HILO spread keeps narrowing even further in the Med to some 17 usd/mt, with the premium of CIF Med 1% over FOB NEW reaching 4.50 usd/mt which is the lowest in more than two months on lower demand and buying interest for LS in the area. The Gibraltar Strait is relatively quiet this morning, with Madrid closed due to holiday. The Med market is trading down this morning.

Economy fundamentals this week

Fundamental Indicators Statistic Importance Date Time Period Consensus Last Actual NAHB Housing Market Index Medium 18-mar 10:00 AM Mar 48 46 - Housing Starts Medium 19-mar 8:30 AM Feb 905K 890K - Biulding Permits Medium 19-mar 8:30 AM Feb 915K 904K - FOMC Rate Decision Medium 20-mar 2:00 PM Mar 0.25% 0.25% - Initial Claims Medium 21-mar 8:30 AM 16-mar 345K 332K - Existing Home Sales Medium 21-mar 10:00 AM Feb 5.00M 4.92M - Philadelphia Fed Medium 21-mar 10:00 AM Mar 2.0 -12.5 - Leading Indicators Medium 21-mar 10:00 AM Feb 0.5% 0.2% -

Source: OW Risk Management