During the 51st week of the year, Marine Bunker Exchange (MABUX) global indices experienced moderate increase.
The 380 HSFO index rose by US$5.22 to US$517.32/MT, staying above the US$500 benchmark. Similarly, the VLSFO index climbed by US$3.80, reaching US$591.05/MT approaching the US$600 threshold. The MGO index also saw an uptick, gaining US$4.92 to US$752.86/MT.
“At the time of writing, the global bunker market continued its upward trend,” stated a MABUX official.
The MABUX Global Scrubber Spread (SS), representing the price difference between 380 HSFO and VLSFO, experienced a slight decrease of US$1.42 to US$73.73. This value remains comfortably below the US$100 breakeven point. The weekly average of the index also recorded a marginal decline of US$0.17.
In Rotterdam, the SS Spread widened slightly, increasing by US$1 to US$61, with the port’s weekly average seeing a more pronounced rise of US$11.33. In contrast, Singapore’s 380 HSFO/VLSFO price difference grew by US$6 to US$90 and nearing the US$100 benchmark. However, the weekly average for Singapore saw a decrease of US$5.33.
Overall, the Global SS Spread and regional indices displayed no clear directional trend over the week but remained below the US$100 threshold.
“We anticipate that the SS Spread dynamics will not see significant changes next week, continuing to fluctuate in varying directions,” mentioned a MABUX official.
Although natural gas prices have eased slightly, an upward trend is expected to resume in the early months of the new year as seasonal demand peaks in the northern hemisphere. Europe is set to remain the primary driver of natural gas consumption during this period. In Germany, coal continues to dominate as the leading energy source, followed by natural gas and wind, while solar power lags behind expectations. Meanwhile, Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands are all reporting gas withdrawals outpacing new injections into storage facilities.
As of 16 December, European regional storage facilities were 77.49% full, down 4.05% compared to the previous week, with withdrawals ongoing. By the end of the 51st week, the European gas benchmark, TTF, showed a moderate decline of 3.487 euros/MWh, settling at 42.065 euros/MWh compared to 45.552 euros/MWh the previous week).
LNG bunker fuel prices at the port of Sines (Portugal) dropped by US$102 over the week, reaching US$863/MT as of 16 December. The price gap between LNG and conventional fuel also narrowed significantly: MGO LS was priced at US$731/MT, leaving a US$132 advantage for MGO LS, down from US$248 the previous week.
In Week 51, the MABUX Market Differential Index (MDI), which measures the disparity between market bunker prices (MBP) and the MABUX digital bunker benchmark (DBP), remained in the undervalued zone across all major hubs—Rotterdam, Singapore, Fujairah, and Houston:
- 380 HSFO Segment: The weekly average undervaluation increased by 15 points in Rotterdam, 6 points in Singapore, 7 points in Fujairah, and 4 points in Houston.
- VLSFO Segment: Underpricing widened by 3 points in Rotterdam, 9 points in Singapore, 6 points in Fujairah, and 2 points in Houston.
- MGO LS Segment: The weekly average undervaluation grew by 16 points in Rotterdam, 1 point in Singapore, 12 points in Fujairah, and 9 points in Houston.
The MDI for Singapore is nearing the US$100 threshold, while Rotterdam remains above it.
“We believe that next week, the global bunker market will remain in a phase of
establishing a stable trend, while bunker indices are expected to continue fluctuating
irregularly,” stated Sergey Ivanov, Director of MABUX.
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Global bunker indices see moderate growth
