Wed 14 Mar 2018, 09:11 GMT

Oil and fuel oil hedging market update


By the Oil Desk at Freight Investor Services.



Commentary

Brent closed down $0.31 last night to $64.64, WTI closed at $60.71, down 0.65. Yesterday's Brent market was very wibbly wobbly (fantastic English phrase) with a low of $64.05 and a high of $65.68 - with people quickly crying into their desk, or swearing to themselves. And it kind of makes sense. The market is about as interesting as listening to the shipping forecast on BBC Radio 4, while eating dry toast, and leafing through a text book on the intricacies of the UK tax system. With no real direction, and people taking more of a wait-and-see approach to yesterday's volatility will be welcomed with the same glee as Guardiola will have over Sevilla beating Man Utd last night. What will break us out of this range on Brent, though? Well, as I mentioned yesterday, I think the IEA report tomorrow will be important. There is also the US rig count increasing by 60 since the start of the year, US oil production at 10.369mn bpd as of last week, a near 1mn bpd increase from January where production stood at 9.492mn bpd. Consistent builds on US crude stockpiles, further complication of Venezuelan oil production, the sacking of Rex Tillerson and the implications for U.S. foreign policy (I'm looking at you Iran and North Korea). There are plenty of things to get this market going.

Fuel Oil Market (March 13)

The front crack opened at -9.95, strengthening to -9.90,before weakening to -10.10. The Cal 19 was valued at -14.85

Asia's prompt-month viscosity spread slipped, edging away from a 10-month high hit in the previous session. Tighter blendstock supplies and increased prompt demand from South Korean power producers have contributed to the recent gains in the viscosity spread.

Singapore sold a total of 4.136 million tonnes of marine fuels in February, the highest ever for the shortest month of the year. February sales were 7.5 percent higher than a year earlier but down 10.2 percent from a month ago

However, vessels calling at Singapore for bunkers continued to load larger quantities of fuel with each ship taking on average 1,340 tonnes of fuel in February, well above the average of 1,240 tonnes loaded by vessels in 2017 and slightly higher from the 1,330 tonne average in January.

Economic Data and Events

* 11am: MBA Mortgage Applications

* 11:30am-12pm: OPEC releases Monthly Oil Market Report

* 12:30pm: U.S. PPI Final Demand,. Feb.

* 12:30pm: U.S. Retail Sales Advance, Feb.

* 2pm: U.S. Business Inventories, Jan.

* 2:30pm: EIA weekly oil inventory report

Singapore 380 cSt

Apr18 - 358.25 / 360.25

May18 - 357.25 / 359.25

Jun18 - 356.25 / 358.25

Jul18 - 354.50 / 356.50

Aug18 - 352.75 / 354.75

Sep18 - 351.00 / 353

Q2-18 - 357.25 / 359.25

Q3-18 - 352.75 / 354.75

Q4-18 - 346.00 / 348.50

Q1-19 - 337.25 / 339.75

CAL19 - 312.25 / 316.25

CAL20 - 247.50 / 255.50

Singapore 180 cSt

Apr18 - 366.00 / 368.00

May18 - 365.00 / 367.00

Jun18 - 364.25 / 366.25

Jul18 - 362.75 / 364.75

Aug18 - 361.00 / 363.00

Sep18 - 359.25 / 361.25

Q2-18 - 365.00 / 367.00

Q3-18 - 360.75 / 362.75

Q4-18 - 354.50 / 357.00

Q1-19 - 346.25 / 348.75

CAL19 - 325.50 / 329.50

CAL20 - 271.50 / 279.50

Rotterdam Barges

Apr18 345.50 / 347.50

May18 344.75 / 346.75

Jun18 343.50 / 345.50

Jul18 341.75 / 343.75

Aug18 339.75 / 341.75

Sep18 337.00 / 339.00

Q2-18 344.50 / 346.50

Q3-18 339.50 / 341.50

Q4-18 330.00 / 332.50

Q1-19 322.50 / 325.00

CAL19 291.25 / 295.25

CAL20 236.25 / 244.25

BP  

Caspar Gooren, Titan. Titan Clean Fuels signs e-methane supply deal with TURN2X for 2028 delivery  

Bunker supplier to receive e-methane from Spanish production plant for distribution across European ports.

Hydrogen-fuelled engine 6UEC35LSGH. Japan consortium achieves hydrogen co-firing in main engine for large commercial vessel  

Engine reaches over 95% hydrogen co-firing ratio, with installation planned for 2027.

BTB bunker truck. Belgian Trading & Bunkering expands DMA 0.89 truck deliveries in ARA region  

BTB extends marine fuel offerings with truck-based deliveries to meet maritime market demand.

Fuel pathway roundtable meeting participants. ABS convenes roundtable on offshore power barge for Great Lakes emissions reduction  

Meeting brought together ports, academia and industry to advance shore power solution under EPA programme.

Lego Ane Maersk video screenshot. Maersk marks 50-year Lego partnership with dual-fuel vessel model  

Shipping company displays an exhibition of Lego sets spanning five decades at Copenhagen headquarters.

Guo Yun Hai vessel. Cosco Shipping takes delivery of 80,000-dwt methanol-ready grain carrier  

Guo Yun Hai features box-shaped cargo hold and methanol-ready design with energy-saving devices.

CMA CGM Innovation ship-to-ship transfer. Algeciras reports record LNG bunkering volumes, claims European top-three position  

Spanish port says it supplied 333,833 cbm of LNG across 78 ship-to-ship operations in 2025.

Additional costs chart. T&E: Iran conflict costing shipping industry €340m a day in fuel costs  

Transport & Environment analysis shows marine fuel price surge has cost the industry €4.6bn since conflict began.

CF 3850 vessel render. Damen delivers second hybrid-ready combi freighter to German shipowner  

The vessel features biofuel capability and will be retrofitted with wind-assist technology with government funding.

Engine retrofit report 2026 graphic. Retrofit capability expands as regulatory uncertainty slows alternative-fuel conversions  

Lloyd’s Register warns delayed conversions could compress demand into a narrower, costlier timeframe as the fleet ages.