SINGAPORE: Asia’s front-month crack for 0.5% very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) dropped for a fifth straight session on Wednesday to its lowest in nearly three weeks, drifting further away from a record high touched last week.

The front-month VLSFO crack fell to $21.58 per barrel against Dubai crude during Asian trading hours, the weakest level since Feb. 25. The crack had hit a record peak of $31.79 a barrel last Wednesday, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

Cash differentials for Asia’s 0.5% VLSFO were at a premium of $21.62 a tonne to Singapore quotes, compared with a $19-premium a day earlier.

Asia’s cash premiums for 380-cst high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) climbed to $4.10 per tonne to Singapore quotes, compared with $3.83 per tonne on Tuesday. The regional HSFO market would likely get some support from utility demand in the near term as Pakistan enters its summer next month, market watchers said.

The 380-cst HSFO barge crack for April traded at a discount of $11.75 a barrel to Brent on Wednesday, compared with minus $11.99 per barrel a day earlier. Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ) inventories for heavy distillates and residues rose 3,000 barrels from the previous week to 10.8 million barrels (1.6 million tonnes) in the week ended March 14, data via S&P Global Platts showed.

Compared with year-ago levels, the weekly fuel oil inventories at FOIZ were about 33% higher.

The weekly fuel oil stocks at FOIZ have averaged 10.1 million barrels so far this year, compared with a weekly average of 10.3 million barrels in 2021, Reuters calculations showed.

Sales of marine fuel in the United Arab Emirates’ Fujairah marine refuelling and oil storage hub dropped 5% in February, official data showed, slumping to their lowest in the last year. February bunker sales volumes were about 612,000 cubic meters, according to the latest data from the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ), equivalent to about 586,000 tonnes, Reuters calculations showed.