Fob prices steady, cfr prices firm

摘要

The tender from Qatar's Tasweeq, which closed on 18 October, was being watched by the market for an indication as to what's coming next. The 35,000t cargo, loading 2H November was in the end awarded in the very-high-$70s/t fob Mesaieed/ Ras Laffan, a level not hugely dissimilar to the tender the company awarded on 20 September. The steady price is being taken as a sign by a large portion of the market that we have reached a pricing range that is truly realistic for the market at the moment. But there are those who believe that if the tender had closed just a day later we would have seen prices firm above the $80/t fob Middle East mark.