Bunker Buyers Brace for Highest Prices in Years as Analysts Expect Oil to Hit $100/bbl Following Iran Strikes

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Tuesday March 3, 2026

Bunker buyers could be facing the highest prices is years this week following US and Israeli strikes on Iran over the weekend.

With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed and vessels either anchored or being rerouteed via the Cape of Good Hope, Brent on Sunday rose around 10% over-the-counter (OTC) to $80/bbl.

Ship & Bunker’s G20-VLSFO index, which tracks the key fuel grade’s average price across 20 of the world’s primary bunkering ports, ended Friday at $543.50/mt.

A jump to $80/bbl for bent this weekend would be enough to push G20-VLSFO prices Monday over $600/mt.

Presumably of greater concern for buyers is where prices go from there.

OPEC+ Sunday agreed to raise output 206,000 barrels per day for April, a move analysts were united in believing will do little to calm markets.

"We expect prices to open (after the weekend) much closer to $100 a barrel and perhaps exceed that level if we see a prolonged outage of the Strait," Ajay Parmar, director of energy and refining at ICIS, was quoted by Reuters as saying Sunday.

Should such a jump occur, bunker buyers can expect to be paying around $750/mt for VLSFO in the primary ports - levels not seen since October 2022.

Ship & Bunker News Team
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