From April 15, MSC Implements a New Fuel Surcharge.

MSC became the first liner to take action on the extremely volatile bunker charges it faces when, on the 14th, it announced that it will conduct a fortnightly review of bunker surcharges on all Asian trade spot and quarterly contracts, starting in the middle of next month, instead of a monthly review.

"The current global political situation is causing significant and unpredictable volatility in global fuel prices," said MSC, the world's largest container shipping company. As a result, the new fuel surcharge changes will be effective from April 15 until further notice, until the situation stabilizes.

Bunker prices have been rising for several months. Back in the summer of 2008, months before the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the global financial crisis, the then-dominant shipping fuel IFO 380 averaged $739.25 per ton at the world's four largest bunker resupply centers. The day before the Russia-Ukraine conflict last month, the price of low sulfur fuel (VLSFO) in the same four major bunker supply centers (tracked by Ship&Bunker) hit a new high of $741.

Since then, with commodity prices soaring across the board in the aftermath of the conflict, Brent crude oil prices jumped sharply above $130 per barrel earlier this month, surpassing the $1,000 per ton mark for the first time in the history of the major fuel resupply hub. High-sulfur fuel also topped the $700 mark at the same time.

Fuel prices have fallen in recent days, with the latest Ship&Bunker data showing an average price of $922.50 for the top four fuel resupply centers. Oil prices have fallen in recent days due to the recent outbreak of the epidemic and the easing of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.