EMEA News
Iran, Greece Woes Push Rotterdam, Piraeus Bunker Prices to 15 Week Low
Rotterdam IFO380 bunker prices Monday fell to a 15 week low of $289.00 per metric tonne (pmt), putting it at a discount of between $6.50 pmt and $32.50 pmt to fellow majors Singapore ($306.00 pmt), Houston ($295.50 pmt), and Fujairah ($321.50 pmt), according to data from Ship & Bunker.
The recent sanctions deal with Iran and the ongoing Greek financial crisis were cited as drivers behind the bearish sentiment, Platts reports.
Prices for 380 cSt product in Piraeus, which made headlines last week with news that A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S is lining up to buy the Greek port, hit a similar low with bunkers on Monday falling to $306.00 pmt, the lowest price since April 3, 2015.
Buyers were said to be holding off on fixing activity, a departure from the more usual firmer summer Mediterranean market that comes on the back of a tourism-driven increase in ferry fuel demand, and suggests buyers are expecting prices to fall further.
"A wait-and-see stance and speculation drove the market," one supplier was quoted as saying, with other source confirming that "bunker demand is just a bit below average for this period of the year."
Last week the discount for RMK 500 cSt bunkers compared to RMG 380 cSt product in Rotterdam fell to a 23-week low of $11 pmt.
