Asia Fuel Oil: 380-cst HSFO cash premiums linger near highest in over 2 years

SINGAPORE: Asia’s cash premiums for 380-cst high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) dipped on Wednesday, but stayed within close sight of a more than two-year high touched earlier this month amid tighter supplies.

The cash differentials for 380-cst HSFO slipped 47 cents to a premium of $20.98 per tonne to Singapore quotes. The premiums had hit $21.50 a tonne on April 1, the highest since in November 2019.

Supply tightness is expected for both HSFO and LSFO markets into the second quarter on several factors including sanctions on Russia and “a recent spate of off-specification high-sulphur marine fuels in Singapore involving more than 30 ships,” Refinitiv Oil Research analysts said in a note.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), home to the world’s top marine refuelling hub, said it was investigating a number of incidents of ships being affected by bunker fuel contamination in the port.

“Key HSFO price indicators have rallied higher into end March and early April due to the supply gap that resulted from the contamination, which is expected to have a lingering impact on HSFO bunkering supply replenishment for the rest of April, while shipping and barging operations will also be hampered,” the analysts said.

Cash premiums for 180-cst HSFO slipped 28 cents to $27.01 per tonne to Singapore quotes on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the cash premiums for Asia’s 0.5% VLSFO were at $18.90 a tonne to Singapore quotes on Wednesday, compared with $17.84 per tonne a day earlier.

The front-month VLSFO crack edged higher to $21.73 per barrel against Dubai crude during Asian trading hours, compared with $21.65 in the previous session.

Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ) inventories for heavy distillates and residues rose 4.9%, or by 504,000 barrels, from the previous week to 10.7 million barrels (1.6 million tonnes) in the week ended April 4, data via S&P Global Platts showed.

Compared with year-ago levels, the weekly fuel oil inventories at FOIZ were about 5% lower.

The weekly fuel oil stocks at FOIZ have averaged 10.1 million barrels so far this year, compared with a weekly average of 10.3 million barrels in 2021, Reuters calculations showed.

Oil futures rose on Wednesday, paring early losses, as the threat of new sanctions on Russia raised supply concerns, countering fears of weaker demand following a build in US crude stockpiles and Shanghai’s extended lockdown.