News / Price war a Christmas bonus for carriers as bunkering costs continue to decline

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Bunker prices continued to plunge today and are predicted to dip below $350 per tonne early next week as oil traders engage in a supermarket-style price war.

A 40% reduction in the cost of heavy fuel oil (HFO) since the summer will save the shipping industry billions of dollars and be welcomed as an unexpected bonus for ocean carriers facing continued freight rate pressures.

But it would be a brave chief financial officer that signed off a container line’s revised 2015 budget ...