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Following up on our previous trend comparison between Singapore 380-cst and WTI crude in the BunkerTrends article entitled 'Singapore 380-cst average rises 5% less than WTI in October', today we have compared the Bunker Index (BIX) - the average global bunker price expressed in US$ per tonne - against WTI.

The data shows that during the month of October the Bunker Index (BIX) rose 9.6 percent between October 1 and October 30 from $501.05 per tonne to $552.51 per tonne. During the same period, WTI crude rose by 8.7 percent from $70.82 per barrel to 77.00 per barrel.

When analysing the difference between the the lowest and highest price in October - a good indicator of intra-month price volatility - WTI showed an $11.42 per barrel, or 16.3 percent, difference between the lowest($69.95) and highest($81.37) settlement price. In contrast BIX prices recorded only a 10.8 percent difference betweeen the lowest($501.05) and highest ($555.06) intra-month price.

Looking at monthly averages, similar conclusions can be made with BIX versus WTI as in yesterday's article when Singapore 380-cst was compared with WTI. Whilst the average monthly Singapore 380-cst price rose by 3.4 percent in October, the BIX monthly average increased in similar fashion by 3.7 percent. In contrast the average WTI settlement price rose by 8.4 percent during the same period.

Significantly, when looking price trends between April and October the average monthly BIX price has risen by only 38.3 percent, from $382.16 to 528.47 per tonne, whilst the WTI has surged 51.8 percent from $49.95 to $75.82 per barrel, showing that average monthly global bunker prices have increased at a lower rate than crude.

When looking solely at the difference in price between April 1 and October 30, the WTI increased by $28.61 per barrel, or 59.1 percent, from $48.39 to $77.00 per barrel, whilst the BIX rose by 51.5 percent from $364.70 to 552.51 per tonne.

Please click on the graph accompanying this article to enlarge.

WTI - October 2009

Average Settlement Price: 75.82
Lowest Settlement Price: 69.95 (October 2)
Highest Settlement Price: 81.37 (October 21)
Low-High Difference($): 11.42
Low-High Difference (%): 16.3%

October 1: 70.82
October 30: 77.00
Price change ($): +6.18
Price change (%): +8.7%

Bunker Index (BIX)- October 2009

Average Price: 528.47
Lowest Price: 501.05 (October 5)
Highest Price: 555.06 (October 23)
Low-High difference ($): 54.01
Low-High Difference (%): 10.8%

October 1: 504.29
October 30: 552.51
Price change ($): +48.22
Price change (%): +9.6 %

WTI - Average Monthly Settlement Prices

Month	Price	+/- ($)	+/- (%)
Oct 09	75.82	+6.35	+8.4%
Sep 09	69.47	-1.79	-2.5%
Aug 09	71.26	+6.97	+10.8%
Jul 09	64.29	-5.41	-7.8%
Jun 09	69.70	+10.49	+17.7%
May 09	59.21	+9.26	+18.5%
Apr 09	49.95	+1.85	+3.8%

Bunker Index (BIX) - Average Monthly Prices

Month	Price	+/- ($)	+/- (%)
Oct 09	528.47	+18.88	+3.7%
Sep 09	509.59	-14.00	-2.7%
Aug 09	523.59	+63.19	+13.73%
Jul 09	460.40	-24.78	-5.1%
Jun 09	485.18	+65.07	+15.5%
May 09	420.11	+37.95	+9.9%
Apr 09	382.16

April - October 2009

WTI Settlement Price

Apr 01: 48.39
Oct 30: 77.00
Price change ($): +28.61
Price change (%): +59.1%

Apr Average: 49.95
Oct Average: 75.82
Price change ($): +25.87
Price change (%): +51.8%

Bunker Index (BIX)

Apr 01: 364.70
Oct 30: 552.51
Price change ($): +187.81
Price change (%): +51.5%

Apr Average: 382.16
Oct Average: 528.47
Price change ($): +146.31
Price change (%): +38.3%