Fuel Oil Contracts News

FIS Makes Bunker Swaps Simple

London - Freight Investor Services has expanded its rapidly growing commodity broking business into cleared, over-the-counter bunker swaps. The new service – the Fuel Oil Single Swap (FOSS) - comes in response to escalating bunker prices, which are hurting shipowner margins at a time of historically low freight rates. The new FIS offering will include three fuel oil contracts: Singapore 380 centistokes (CST), Singapore 180 CST and Rotterdam 3.5% sulphur barges FOB. In contrast to existing swaps, these contracts will be traded in lot sizes of just one tonne, enabling easier access to these markets for smaller players such as shipowners who need to manage their fuel cost risk for small fleets or even individual vessels.