<article><p class="lead">The discount of delivered very-low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) in Fujairah relative to Singapore is narrowing again, after widening to an average of $20/t last week.</p><p>Singapore VLSFO bunkers cost more than Fujairah bunkers during the Christmas week, with fewer cargo availability given strong power demand for the fuel, a lack of blending components and more market participants away.</p><p><i>Argus</i> understands that supply pressure is easing in Singapore, especially with oil majors and large trading houses "offering quite aggressively", according to a bunker broker. Local suppliers were less willing to lower prices.</p><p>Bad weather in Fujairah was heard to have impacted bunker operations temporarily. Cargo availabilities are getting delayed and barges are tight. </p><p>As a result, pricing in Fujairah has turned into a two-tiered structure. The price spread between VLSFO clips for delivery before and after 11 January widened to up to $20/t, reflected in deals submitted by market participants to <i>Argus</i> for price assessment. The highest deal, agreed on 4 January for delivery of around 500t of VLSFO by 11 January was at $635/t, while a 1,000t clip of VLSFO was sold at $614/t for 14 January delivery. </p><p>Higher supply in Singapore and tighter supply in Fujairah narrowed the discount of Fujairah bunkers versus Singapore to just $2.98/t yesterday, according to <i>Argus</i> data, in line with the longer-term average.</p><p class="bylines">By Sammy Six and Elshan Aliyev</p></article>
