Asia’s spot premium for very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) extended declines on Monday, while high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) was largely stable in thin trade.
Singapore VLSFO cash premium softened for a fifth trading session, closing near $7.25 a metric ton. The market is likely to remain amply supplied next month amid sufficient inventories and blendstocks, based on trade sources.
Meanwhile, HSFO was little changed. The spot market eyed a cautious supply outlook, while lower demand expectations from China capped a lid on prices, said sources.
Cargo trade was overall thin on Monday, though some trading houses continued to bid for February-loading parcels.
Refining margins for fuel oil eased, with Singapore 380-cst HSFO crack (FO380BRTCKMc1) closing at a discount near $2.50 a barrel, while VLSFO crack (LFO05SGBRTCMc1) closed at a premium of $11.15 a barrel.
Separately, Sri Lanka’s LIOC sought 25,000 tons of VLSFO for delivery in March via a tender that closed on Monday, based on data from trade sources.
REFINERY UPDATES
– Indian refiners’ throughput in December rose 5.2% year-on-year to 5.64 million barrels per day (23.87 million metric tons), provisional government data showed.
– TotalEnergies shut the small crude distillation unit because of the outage of a coker at its 238,000-barrel-per-day Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, people familiar with plant operations said.
