SINGAPORE: Asia’s front-month crack for 0.5% very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) rose on Thursday, while cash premiums for the marine fuel grade surged to their highest level since late-December.
The front-month VLSFO crack climbed to $19.67 per barrel against Dubai crude during Asian trading hours, up from $19.29 a barrel on Wednesday.
Cash differentials for Asia’s 0.5% VLSFO jumped to a premium of $17.34 a tonne to Singapore quotes on Thursday, riding on firmer buying interests in the physical market. They were at a premium of $15.02 per tonne a day earlier.
Meanwhile, Asia’s cash premiums for 380-cst high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) inched lower by 3 cents $2.10 per tonne to Singapore quotes on Thursday.
Singapore’s onshore fuel oil stocks rose 8.9% to 24.1 million barrels, or 3.6 million tonnes, in the week to Feb. 16, according to the Enterprise Singapore data.
Weekly fuel oil inventories have averaged 22.5 million barrels so far this year, in line with the weekly average in 2021, Reuters calculations showed. Onshore fuel oil inventories were 24.5% higher compared with year-ago levels.
Sales of marine fuel in the United Arab Emirates’ Fujairah marine refuelling and oil storage hub dropped 7% in January, official data showed, falling for a third consecutive month since hitting a record high in October.
Fujairah’s January bunker sales volumes totalled about 646,000 cubic meters, according to the latest data from the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ), equivalent to about 619,000 tonnes, Reuters calculations showed.
Sales of 380-cst high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) rose to about 120,000 cubic meters in January, up 10.5% from the previous month, while demand for the mainstream 380-cst very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) was 11% lower to a four-month low of 498,000 cubic meters.
Sales of low-sulphur marine gasoil (LSMGO) climbed 11% in January to 27,000 cubic meters, while marine gasoil (MGO) volumes slumped 58% from the previous month to 1,200 cubic meters.
One 180-cst high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) deal, no 380-cst HSFO trades. One VLSFO trade was reported. Oil prices fell on Thursday as talks to resurrect a nuclear deal with Iran entered their final stages, but losses were capped by heightened tensions between top energy exporter Russia and the West over Ukraine.
South Korea and Iran have held working-level talks on resuming imports of Iranian crude oil and unfreezing Iranian funds held in the East Asian nation, South Korea’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday.