Asia’s high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) market softened on Wednesday, weighed by higher incoming supplies from the Middle East, while fuel oil inventories at the UAE’s Fujairah rose to six-month highs despite higher supplies flowing out to Asia.
Singapore’s cash premium for 180-cst HSFO dropped to $2.75 a tonne on Tuesday, with lower spot offers emerging day-on-day.
Meanwhile, spot 380-cst HSFO cash premium (FO380-SIN-DIF) was stable at $5.25 a tonne, while front-month margin (FO380DUBCKMc1) closed at a discount of $8.02 a barrel at 0830 GMT.
Middle Eastern fuel oil volumes to East Asia were pegged at a two-month high of 1.38 million tonnes, poised to exceed April’s 1.05 million tonnes, based on Refinitiv Oil Research.
The uptick was led by higher arrivals from the United Arab Emirates at 1.15 million tonnes, despite the recent build in onshore stockpiles at Fujairah.
FUJAIRAH INVENTORIES
Fujairah fuel oil inventories rose to six-month highs of 13.46 million barrels (2.12 million tonnes) in the week to May 15, climbing for a third consecutive week, showed Fujairah Oil Industry Zone data published by S&P Global Commodity Insights on Wednesday.
Discharged volumes of fuel oil at the UAE were at 1.5 million tonnes in May so far, after hitting three-month highs of 1.8 million tonnes in April, Refinitiv ship-tracking data showed.
The inventory build emerged on steady inflows from Russia and Iraq, ship-tracking data showed, while demand for bunkers was poor in the first half of May, trade sources said.
OTHER NEWS
– Oil prices fell on Wednesday, after a surprise rise in U.S. crude inventories stoked demand concerns on the heels of weaker-than-expected economic data from the United States and China, the world’s two biggest oil consumers.
– Lebanon has agreed deals to secure more fuel supplies from Iraq, the two countries said on Tuesday, as Beirut battles to produce more power to help it emerge from years of economic crisis.
– Kuwait’s overseas oil and gas division has launched a sale process for its Norwegian assets as part of its focus on newer exploration and production hubs, industry sources said.
– Sean Strawbridge, chief executive of the Port of Corpus Christi, the largest U.S. oil-export port by volume, resigned on Tuesday, the port operator said without providing any explanation.
WINDOW TRADES
– 180-cst HSFO: No trade
– 380-cst HSFO: No trade
– 0.5% VLSFO: No trade
Source: Hellenic Shipping News
