Buenos Aires LS380 drops below Santos HS380

OREANDA-NEWS. August 22, 2016. Argentina low-sulphur 380cst fuel oil prices dropped sharply below \\$300/t the third week of August, from a \\$357.50-382.50/t range in the first half of the month. Today Buenos Aires low-sulphur 380cst was heard selling at \\$270-271/t and indicated at \\$275/t delivered, and in Bahia Blanca the refiner Pampa Energia posted low-sulphur 380cst at \\$295/t. Argentina's cheaper prices propped up buying interest this week.

By contrast prices at other major bunkering ports in Latin America have been on the rise since 4 August, tracing sharp gains in crude. At the competing port of Santos, the biggest bunkering port in Brazil, Petrobras was offering high-sulphur 380cst at \\$276.50/t delivered today.

Argentina's bunker demand is seasonal. Demand is driven higher from mid-March through July by dry bulk vessels exporting harvest crops. Demand is strong also during the southern hemisphere summer of December through March on the back of cruiseship port calls. Bunker buying interest is typically the weakest from August through November.