SINGAPORE: Asia’s 0.5% very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) rebounded on Thursday, recovering some of the losses earlier in the week as sentiment remained supportive amid tight supplies of the finished-grade fuel.

VLSFO cash premiums climbed to $9.95 a tonne to Singapore quotes, up from a two-month low of $9.50 in the previous session.

The VLSFO front-month crack also rebounded from a near three-week low in the previous session to $15.43 a barrel above Dubai crude, Refinitiv-Eikon data showed, even as benchmark crude oil prices traded near $90 a barrel. Singapore residual fuel oil inventories jumped 12% in the week ended Jan. 26, rising to a near five-month high, as net import volumes surged, official data showed on Thursday.

Onshore fuel oil stocks rose by 2.58 million barrels, or about 407,000 tonnes, to 23.78 million barrels or 3.75 million tonnes, in the week ended Wednesday, their highest since early-September, Enterprise Singapore data showed. The weekly climb lifted inventories to 14% above year-ago levels and well above the 2021 weekly average of 22.48 million barrels.