Bunker fuel prices moved in mixed directions in Week 49, with HSFO and VLSFO edging higher while MGO LS eased slightly. Scrubber spreads slipped back below $80/MT, LNG kept a clear discount to MGO in Sines, and most key hubs remained in the undervalued zone.
The global MABUX indices showed only modest changes over the week. The 380 HSFO index rose by just over $6 to about $410/MT, while the VLSFO index gained a little more than $1 to roughly $489/MT and stayed below the $500/MT mark.
In contrast, the MGO LS index slipped by a couple of dollars to around $765/MT, leaving the overall bunker market without a clear directional trend.
The MABUX Global Scrubber Spread (SS) – the price gap between HSFO and VLSFO – narrowed again, falling from the low-$80s to just under $79/MT and remaining well below the $100/MT “breakeven” level. Rotterdam’s SS dropped to around $41/MT, while Singapore’s spread widened slightly to about $83/MT, though its weekly average still moved lower.
Overall, the current SS levels continue to favour conventional VLSFO over HSFO plus scrubber.
In the Mediterranean ECA, the new ULSFO (0.10% sulfur) versus MGO LS “ECA Spread” softened but stayed close to the psychological $100/MT mark in both Istanbul and Venice. This maintains a comfortable price edge for ULSFO and underpins growing demand for compliant low-sulfur fuel in the MedECA market.
Gas and LNG fundamentals were supportive. U.S. LNG exports hit a record 10.7 million tonnes in November—around 40% higher year on year—pushing European gas prices to their lowest level in more than a year despite colder weather. European storage stood just under 75% full, and the TTF benchmark fell to about €28/MWh.
At Sines, LNG as bunker fuel dropped to roughly $668/MT versus $753/MT for MGO LS, keeping an $85/MT discount in LNG’s favour, although the gap narrowed from the previous week.
The MABUX Market Differential Index (MDI) continued to show a predominance of underpricing for all three bunker grades across Rotterdam, Singapore, Fujairah and Houston, with MGO LS in particular moving closer to fair value. At the same time, Rotterdam reported that alternative bunker fuels – mainly biofuel blends and LNG – accounted for more than 13% of marine fuel sales in Q3, underlining the port’s role as a leading low-carbon bunkering hub.
Overall, the global bunker market remains broadly stable, and MABUX expects indices to keep fluctuating in mixed directions next week, with underpricing still the dominant signal.
Source: MABUX
