HSFO cash premiums extend declines

SINGAPORE: Cash premiums for Asia’s high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) extended declines on Wednesday on subdued buying interest for cargoes of the fuel.

This in contrast to a surge in buying appetite that emerged on July 1 and flipped cash differentials for cargoes of both 180-cst and 380-cst HSFO from discounts into premiums.

Cash premiums for 180-cst HSFO dipped 30 cents to $1.96 a tonne to Singapore quotes on Wednesday, while cash premiums for 380-cst HSFO were at 85 cents a tonne, down 48 cents from the previous session. Both HSFO differentials hit over three-month highs at the start of the week.

While the lower premiums add to losses on Tuesday, the cash premiums are still well above the levels they were at on June 30 at minus $2.02 a tonne for 180-cst HSFO and minus $1.15 a tonne for 380-cst HSFO.

Meanwhile, fuel oil inventories in the Fujairah bunkering and storage hub dropped 7percent to a 12-week low in the week ended July 5, data released on Wednesday showed.

The lower inventories came amid limited imports and steady bunkering demand, trade sources said.

Fujairah Oil Industry Zone inventories for heavy distillates and residues fell by 810,000 barrels, or about 128,000 tonnes, to 11.05 million barrels, or 1.74 million tonnes, data via S&P Global Platts showed.

Fujairah’s fuel oil inventories were 32percent lower than year-ago levels.

According to assessments by Refinitiv Oil Research, exports from the UAE fell to 309,000 tonnes in the week ended July 4, down by 211,000 tonnes from the prior week.

No new cargoes were seen loading from Ruwais during the reporting period, contributing to the decline in the UAE’s weekly fuel oil export volumes, according to Refinitiv Oil Research.

“Imports were also on the soft side last week, with just four cargoes discharging at the Fujairah trading hub,” said Refinitiv Oil Research.

“This reflects softer export numbers from other Gulf producers.”

Freepoint bought a 20,000-tonne very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) cargo from Shell at a $1.25 per tonne premium to Singapore quotes. PTT sold a 20,000-tonne 380-cst HSFO cargo to Trafigura at a 50 cent per tonne premium to Singapore quotes. No 0.5percent VLSFO or high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) cargo trades were reported in the Singapore trading window.

OPEC+ brinkmanship has taken oil prices towards $80 a barrel, the highest since 2018, threatening to upend central banks’ transitory inflation narrative as well as the post-pandemic economic recovery.

Last year’s Saudi-Russian oil war showed that disputes between OPEC+ members do not always result in higher prices, but this week’s standoff within the group sent prices higher, building on year-to-date gains of around 50percent.