VLSFO Bunker Prices Slide to New Low

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Thursday April 30, 2020

The cost of VLSFO bunkers in the four major bunkering hubs has continued to fall, hitting a new low Tuesday $180/mt, according to Ship & Bunker's Global 4 Ports (G4) index that tracks the average bunker prices across Singapore, Fujairah, Rotterdam, and Houston.

IMO 2020 grade bunkers have been regularly available at all four of the ports since early October, and was at a high of $702.50/mt on January 6, 2020.

As troublesome as the drop since then has been, equally concerning for market participants will be the 28% drop the index has witnessed in the last two weeks alone, having stood at $248.50/mt on April 14.

Taking into account that IFO380 was the dominant fuel choice prior to the January 1, 2020 introduction of the 0.50% sulfur cap on marine fuel, bunker costs in real terms are at their lowest since April 19, 2020 when the G4 index for IFO380 was $179/mt.