Bunker upticks US$3.50 to $610 per tonne in Rotterdam

ANOTHER US$1,000 a day was added to the cost of running an 8,000-TEU ship as Rotterdam-sourced IFO 380 bunker rose $3.50 per tonne in trading to $610, reported London's Containerisation International.


Ship operators are caught between lower rates depressed by excess capacity afloat and rising fuel prices, 35 per cent higher than the $450 average of 2010 and are expected to post disappointing first quarter results.


Civil strife in the Arab world is the main contributor to rising oil prices with the current $115 per barrel price expected to hit $120 by April, said the report.
(Source:http://www.schednet.com)