Spot fuel oil benchmarks dipped on Tuesday, while the market kept an eye on ample supply into the coming weeks.
Cash premium for Singapore very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) dropped below $9 a metric ton with offers softening. Meanwhile, 380-cst high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) traded lower to $10 a ton, though some bids held their ground.
Total incoming fuel oil supplies to Asia are expected to breach 6 million tons this month, calculations based on LSEG ship-tracking data showed Tuesday, with strong inflows led by a sustained recovery in arbitrage barrels, including from Russia.
This compared lower versus a volume of more than 7 million tons last month, though it remained above an average of a typical 5.5 million tons per month.
In the downstream bunker market, premiums also softened for delivered marine fuel at Singapore. The bunker premiums dipped towards $15 a ton this week, compared to about $20 last week, based on data from trade sources.
REFINERY UPDATES
– The naphtha reformer of Venezuela’s second-largest refinery, the 310,000-barrel-per-day Cardon, has been halted for maintenance and repairs following an equipment malfunction last week, four sources close to operations said.
– The gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracker (FCC) at Motiva Enterprises’ 626,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas refinery returned to normal operation on Monday after a malfunction, said people familiar with plant operations.
