Traders say bunker fuel availability in Hamburg has continued to tighten, leaving ship owners to pay steep premiums for the product that is available, Platts reports.
The summer road-building season, which has pushed German refineries to peak diversion residual fuel to bitumen production, is said to have led to the limited bunker supplies.
As Ship & Bunker reported earlier this month, both Hamburg and Rotterdam were reported to have been experiencing tight bunker avails, a situation said to have added upward pressure to prices.
"It is the same as last July and not an easy situation to manage right now," said a European bunker trader of Hamburg's supply situation.
Data from Ship & Bunker indicates Hamburg's IFO380 prices experienced a rise toward the end of last week, reaching $254 per metric tonne (pmt) on Friday, before jumping to $263 pmt on Monday.
