Asia’s spot premium for high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) softened for a fifth consecutive session on Thursday, while onshore residue stocks at Singapore held high.
Cash premiums for spot 380-cst HSFO fell to $3.55 per metric ton, with a lower-priced trade emerging for the product, although inter-month spreads rebounded from the previous session.
In contrast, the very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) market firmed slightly, but the uptick was capped due to largely bearish fundamentals.
Inventories have been holding above typical averages for a fourth straight week, official data showed on Thursday.
Most of the imports originated from Brazil and Indonesia in the latest week, while exports mostly headed for South Korea and China, based on the data.
INVENTORY DATA
– Singapore onshore fuel oil stockpiles (STKRS-SIN) were at 21.10 million barrels (3.32 million tons) in the week to Jan. 8, climbing 0.7% from the previous week, Enterprise Singapore data showed.
