- Singapore’s B24-VLSFO discount to Rotterdam’s B30 shrinks
- Low demand in Mediterranean ports
- Bio-premiums over conventional remain wide in Rotterdam
Singapore prices up for third consecutive week, reports Engine.
Singapore
Singapore’s B24-VLSFO UCOME and B24-LSMGO UCOME prices have gained by $12-17/mt in the past week. The bio-bunker prices have gone up despite a $5/mt drop in the UCOME FOB China benchmark, according to PRIMA Markets.
PRIMA says, “lower offers last week of $960-980/t [$960-980/mt] were still mostly met by limited demand, with other optimistic sellers still offering above $1,000/t [$1,000/mt] in other areas of the country.”
Singapore’s B24-VLSFO UCOME price has gained for the third consecutive week. Its weekly gain has been steeper than in Rotterdam. As a result, Singapore’s B24-VLSFO UCOME discount to Rotterdam’s B30-VLSFO HBE has narrowed from $32/mt to $24/mt on the week. These are of course different blend ratios, but they represent the lowest-priced typical biofuel blends in the world’s two biggest bunker ports for comparison.
VLSFO and LSMGO prices in Singapore have increased by $20-27/mt in the past week. This has added upward pressure on bio-bunker prices.
Biofuel price premiums over pure conventional fuels in Singapore are $110/mt for B24-VLSFO blends and $77/mt for B24-LSMGO blends. These premiums have narrowed by $8-10/mt on the week and are much narrower compared to Rotterdam.
Singapore sold 54,000 mt of bio-blended bunkers in May, down from 60,000 mt in April, according to preliminary figures from the port authority. Bio-bunker sales are much lower than peak sales of 79,000 mt recorded last October.
Rotterdam
Rotterdam’s B30-VLSFO and B30-LSMGO HBE prices have gained by $4-10/mt on the week. The benchmarks have risen despite a drop in the price of palm oil mill effluent methyl ester (POMEME).
PRIMA-assessed the POMEME price in the ARA declined by $8/mt in the past week, to $1,385/mt. POMEME is one of the most popular advanced biofuel feedstocks, and POMEME-based biofuels can qualify for advanced biofuel rebates through the Dutch HBE system.
POMEME and UCOME prices in the ARA remained mostly rangebound in the past week. PRIMA says the “market remains conservatively range-bound in anticipation of the European anti-dumping investigation on imports of Chinese biodiesel to be over and anti-dumping duties applied.”
The 2024 ticket price for advanced HBE has come down slightly from €8.25/GJ ($8.83/GJ) to €8.15/GJ ($8.73/GJ) and resulted in a $1/mt lower rebate for B30 blends sold in the Netherlands. The rebate is around $78/mt now, down from the peak of $93/mt seen in early April. It is still lucrative to bunker advanced biofuel blends in Dutch ports compared to ports in Belgium and other countries where discounts don’t exist.
Rotterdam’s biofuel price premiums over pure conventional fuels have narrowed by $3–6/mt in the past week, to $193/mt for B30-VLSFO HBE blends, and to $131/mt for B30-LSMGO HBE blends.
Rotterdam’s B30-VLSFO UCOME and B30-LSMGO UCOME prices have increased by $3-9/mt in the past week. Availability of bio-blended bunkers remains good in the ARA hub, a source says.
B24-VLSFO UCOME was indicated at $785/mt in Gibraltar and Algeciras on Friday, unchanged on the week. Bio-bunker demand was mostly sluggish in both ports last week, a source says.
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Source: Engine
