SINGAPORE: Buoyed by a sharp drop in crude oil prices on Friday and ongoing signs of tightening supplies, the front-month Singapore 180-cst fuel oil refining margin firmed on Monday, returning to a record high it reached last week.
Falling crude oil prices and tightening global supplies of the residual fuel have helped fuel oil cracks rally in recent weeks, with Asia's benchmark crack hitting record highs twice in November.
The front-month Singapore 180-cst fuel oil swap was at a premium of $4.47 a barrel above Middle East benchmark Dubai crude oil on Monday, up from 44.05 a barrel on Friday, Refinitiv data in Eikon showed.
The front-month fuel oil crack was at a record high of $4.47 a barrel on Nov. 20, Refinitiv data showed.
Oil prices on Monday clawed back some losses from a nearly 8 percent plunge the previous session, but Brent failed to hold above $60 per barrel amid generally weak financial markets.
RUSSIA FUEL OIL EXPORTS
- Russia's fuel oil exports fell to their lowest in more than a decade in October, according to data provided last week by the Energy Ministry.
- Russia's fuel oil exports sank to 2.233 million tonnes in October, down 14 percent from September and 24 percent lower from the same time last year, the data showed.
- Russian fuel oil exports were last lower in April 2008 at 1.116 million tonnes.
- This came as Russian fuel oil output fell to 3.735 million tonnes in October, down 5 percent from September and 5.5 percent lower from the year-ago levels, the data showed.
- "This has been yet another factor playing into the rally in global fuel oil cracks," said JBC Energy on Monday referring to the latest Russian fuel oil data.
- "While we see the situation easing with the end of maintenance, the global preconditions for temporary blowouts in cracks next summer remain in place," said the research consultancy.
- "That already tight base case balance also means any upward revisions to demand in 2019, such as we now feel obliged to make for Russia given year-to-date 2018 data, have greater potential than usual to push up cracks in the middle of next year," said JBC.
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