Oil stubbornly above $100/bbl
Oil prices remain north of $100 per barrel and Goldman Sachs warns triple‑digit levels could persist for years—keeping upward pressure on fuel and utility costs across hotel operations. That persistent energy inflation feeds through supplier escalators and freight surcharges. ( )
Goldman Sachs raised its Brent and WTI forecasts in mid‑March, saying Brent should average above $100 in March and about $85 in April while lifting Q4‑2026 Brent/WTI targets to $71/$67 and warning upside risks into 2027. (money.usnews.com) Brent was trading around $107.40 per barrel on March 20 and briefly topped about $119 intraday earlier in the week, roughly $35 higher than a year ago. (fortune.com) Marine fuel (VLSFO) spot quotes in major bunkering hubs were roughly $1,070–1,200 per metric ton in mid‑March, pushing bunker costs to multi‑month highs versus late‑2025 levels. (bunkerindex.com) Drewry’s World Container Index hit $2,172 per 40ft in the week of March 19 while major carriers have announced emergency fuel surcharges—Maersk’s global Emergency Bunker Surcharge starts March 25 and CMA CGM’s Emergency Fuel Surcharge takes effect March 23. (maritimenews.com) Regional operators serving the Caribbean have filed explicit increases: Crowley posted an Emergency Fuel Recovery Surcharge effective April 6 with per‑CFT/CWT and minimums, Tropical Shipping raised bunker surcharges (e.g., 20' dry to $350) effective April 12, and King Ocean posted 20'/40' hikes to $200/$400 (effective April 12). (crowley.com) U.S. on‑highway diesel averaged about $5.07 per gallon the week of March 16 (up roughly $1.27 year‑on‑year), and retail diesel adjustments and pump increases are already being reported island‑by‑island (for example, Jamaica raised diesel by J$4.50 per litre on March 17). (worktruckonline.com) Carriers and liners say many emergency surcharges will be reviewed on a fortnightly cadence and some EFS/EBS filings list explicit per‑TEU and per‑reef rates (e.g., Hapag‑Lloyd published $160/$225 per TEU headhaul long‑haul EFS figures and Maersk said its EBS will be re‑evaluated every 14 days). (hapag-lloyd.com)
