Spot premiums for fuel oil were rangebound in Asia on Tuesday as the market continued to eye upcoming supply loadings in the latter half of the month, while refining cracks edged slightly higher after crude prices dipped.

The Singapore cash premium for Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO) was little changed at about $1 a metric ton, even though the market structure remained weaker at the prompt months.

July cracks for VLSFO remained above $8 a barrel, based on LSEG data at 0830 GMT.

High Sulphur Fuel Oil (HSFO) benchmarks also held to a tight range after a recent uptrend stalled, with the 380-cst HSFO cash premium hovering between $11 and $12 a ton in recent sessions.

Meanwhile, refining cracks for 380-cst HSFO firmed at discounts of $5.85 a barrel on Tuesday.

INCOMING SUPPLIES

Fuel oil supplies to East Asia were pegged above 4 million tons for June, compared with about 5.65 tons in May, based on data from LSEG Oil Research this week, though some trade sources eyed more loadings for HSFO in the second half of the month.

Source: Hellenic Shipping News