SINGAPORE: Singapore fuel oil inventories jumped 13 percent to a four-week high in the week ended Nov. 21, despite an 18 percent drop in net imports to a two-week low, official data released on Thursday showed.
- The higher inventory levels were in line with market expectations of increased arbitrage flows into Singapore in November, compared with the previous month, with more volumes due for arrival in the second half of the month, trade sources said.
- Onshore fuel oil inventories jumped 2.082 million barrels (about 311,000 tonnes) to 17.903 million barrels, or 2.672 million tonnes, in the week to Nov. 21, data from International Enterprise (IE) Singapore showed.
- Net fuel oil imports came in at 1.121 million tonnes, compared with an 11-week high of 1.359 million tonnes in the week before. Weekly figures like this are volatile, however.
- Singapore fuel oil net imports have averaged 792,000 tonnes per week in 2018.
- This week's onshore fuel oil inventories were 24 percent lower than a year earlier.
- Singapore's net exports of fuel oil to China topped the week ended Nov. 21 at 297,000 tonnes, an 11-month high, followed by Hong Kong at 264,000 tonnes, Malaysia at 106,000 tonnes and Qatar at 41,000 tonnes.
- Singapore's fuel oil shipment to Qatar in the week to Wednesday marked a second consecutive week of fuel oil exports to the gas-rich Gulf state. Before that, Singapore never exported fuel oil to Qatar since at least December 2015, or as far as records go back, official data compiled by Reuters showed.
- The largest net imports into Singapore originated from Iraq at 533,000 tonnes, followed by Russia at 286,000 tonnes, the Netherlands at 218,000 tonnes, Saudi Arabia at 192,000 tonnes and Malta at 172,000 tonnes.
- Singapore's fuel oil imports from Iraq hit a record high in the week to Nov. 21. Only Russia and Malaysia exported larger volumes of fuel oil to Singapore in any given week this year at 658,000 tonnes and 679,000 tonnes, respectively.
- Fuel oil inventories in Singapore have averaged 18.83 million barrels, or 2.81 million tonnes, a week since the start of 2018, compared with 23.552 million barrels, or 3.515 million tonnes, in 2017.
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