SINGAPORE: Fuel oil refining margins eased on Friday amid firmer crude oil prices, while cash premiums for the mainstay 380-cst high-sulphur fuel oil slipped to a fresh eight month low.
The more actively-traded 380-cst barge crack to Brent crude for February slipped to minus $2.55 a barrel during Asian trading hours, Refinitiv Eikon data showed. It was at minus $2.45 per barrel on Thursday.
Brent crude oil prices hit 2019, highs above $65 per barrel, spurred by OPEC-led supply cuts and a partial shutdown of Saudi Arabia's biggest offshore oil field.
Asia's 180-cst fuel oil crack to Dubai crude slipped to 55 cents a barrel, compared with $1.44 per barrel a day earlier, according to Refinitiv data.
Cash premiums for 380-cst high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) dropped to $2.43 a barrel to Singapore quotes, levels not seen since June 2018.
They were at a premium of $2.61 a barrel on Thursday.
ARA STOCKS
- Fuel oil stocks independently held in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub rose 8 percent to about 1.1 million tonnes in the week to Feb. 14, data from Dutch consultancy PJK International showed.
- Gasoil stocks rose 5.8 percent to about 2.5 million tonnes in the week to Thursday.
- Compared with year-ago levels, fuel oil inventories were up 16.6 percent, while gasoil inventories were about 18 percent lower.
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