A recent rally in high sulfur fuel oil (HSFO) showed signs of pausing as of Thursday, while landed inventories at key trading hub Singapore rose for a second straight week.
The cash differential for 380-cst HSFO dipped slightly at $28.85 a metric ton, as front-month backwardation narrowed after firming sharply in the past few sessions.
A flurry of spot cargo bids continued to emerge as with the previous day, though trade quietened down.
The front-month crack for 380-cst HSFO also retreated, closing at a discount of $6.20 a barrel.
Meanwhile, the very-low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) spot market remained trapped in thin premiums.
The 0.5% VLSFO cash differential MFO05-SIN-DIF dropped to a premium of $2.99 a metric ton, while the front-month crack climbed slightly to a premium of $10.69 a barrel.
In tenders, India’s MRPL offered both marine LSFO and HSFO for loading in August, each of 20,000 tons. The tender closes on Friday.
SINGAPORE INVENTORIES O/SING1
Residual fuel oil stocks in Singapore extended higher to 14-week highs as weekly exports crunched sharply, official data showed on Thursday.
Onshore fuel oil stocks climbed 10% to 22.92 million barrels (3.61 million metric tons) in the week to August 3, data from Enterprise Singapore showed.
Weekly fuel oil exports out of Singapore fell by nearly 74% as China’s spree for HSFO appears to have eased amid a sharp rally in high-sulfur fuel oil prices, trade sources said.
Source: Hellenic Shipping News
