Americas News
Houston Extends Lead as Most Expensive Bunker Hub for VLSFO
The port of Houston cemented its position as the most expensive of the top four bunkering ports for very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) Monday, after the US Gulf port took the lead three weeks ago.
Houston's VLSFO prices first overtook Singapore and Fujairah on February 21, according to Ship & Bunker pricing.
Monday's crude price collapse widened Houston's VLSFO premium over Singapore by $52.50/mt to $77.50/mt; that compares with a discount of $87/mt on January 17.
Rotterdam has consistently remained the cheapest of the four ports for VLSFO over the past few months.
The stark widening of Houston's premium to Singapore on Monday will partly reflect its time zone, with market participants still submitting price indications much later in the day there, by which point crude prices had recovered some of their earlier losses.
But if Saudi Arabia follows through with its intention to increase crude production, bunker ports like Houston with a heavy focus on tanker activity will see stronger demand than elsewhere with more oil cargoes on the water.
