Fuel Oil Swaps News

Over $750 million worth of fuel oil traded 1st week of June. Trading frenzy leads to record price swing. Major commodity houses are betting against each other on the direction of fuel oil in Singapore, the world's largest market for shipping fuel, in a clash that has led to a record price swing and is set to smash monthly trading levels. More than $750 million of physical cargoes have been traded in the first week of June during an end-of-day pricing window, accounting for about 60 percent of Singapore's average monthly sales of the fuel and creating logistics challenges at the port. Strong buying has been led by Swiss-based Glencore and Mercuria, China's PetroChina, and oil major BP, daily trade data shows.

The window to sell Western fuel oil to Asia is starting to close as demand for a limited fleet of supertankers to store cheap crude pushes freight rates to multi-month highs, shipping and trade sources said. Crude prices have fallen nearly 60 percent since June and, with prices a year ahead already quoted about $10 a barrel dearer than now, crude traders have hired up to 20 supertankers to store oil with a view to turning a big profit later. That also adds to the cost of selling fuel oil to Asia. The region has taken in high volumes of fuel oil from Europe and the Mediterranean this month, but with the cost of chartering a supertanker rising to highs not seen in at least a year, it is an increasingly less profitable trade.

Freight Investor Services launches a live bunker fuel pricing service that for the first time makes bunker hedging practical for its biggest users. Firm bids and offers, updated in real time for six months of bunker forward curve will provide unrivalled degree of price transparency and liquidity. Ali Ersen, Bunker Broker with FIS, said: “When a shipowner knows they are performing a given voyage or charter, they can use the screen to hedge their fuel like-for-like in the volume that they need. The FIS Bunker Screen automatically collates prices from multiple market-makers and provides firm bids and offers in tight spreads along six months of the forward curve.

Firm bids and offers, updated in real time for six months of bunker forward curve will provide unrivalled degree of price transparency and liquidity. Freight Investor Services, one of the world’s leading brokers of freight and commodity derivatives, has launched a live bunker fuel pricing service that for the first time makes bunker hedging practical for its biggest users. The FIS Bunker Screen automatically collates prices from multiple market-makers and provides firm bids and offers in tight spreads along six months of the forward curve. Screen prices move with the market, reflecting up-to-the-minute changes in prices of the three key bunker fuel contracts: Singapore 180CST, Singapore 380CST and Rotterdam 3.5% Sulphur Barges.