SINGAPORE: Asia’s front-month crack for 0.5% very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) inched lower on Friday, but posted a third consecutive weekly gain amid tighter supplies.

The front-month VLSFO crack dipped 3 cents to $19.64 per barrel against Dubai crude during Asian trading hours. The crack, however, has gained nearly 2% this week, Refinitiv data showed. Cash differentials for Asia’s 0.5% VLSFO were at a premium of $17.30 a tonne to Singapore quotes on Friday, compared with $17.34 per tonne on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Asia’s cash premiums for 380-cst high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) dropped to $1.60 per tonne to Singapore quotes on Friday, compared with $2.10 per tonne a day earlier.

Fuel oil stocks held independently in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub dropped 8% to 1 million tonnes in the week to Feb. 17, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed. The data showed ARA gasoil inventories fell 3.4% to 1.5 million tonnes. One 180-cst high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) deal, no 380-cst HSFO trades. NO VLSFO trades were reported Oil prices extended losses on Friday, and were headed for a weekly fall, as the prospect of extra supply from Iran returning to the market eclipsed fears of a possible supply disruption arising from a Russian invasion of Ukraine.