SINGAPORE: Asia’s high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) market held steady to slightly firmer on Wednesday, as Middle Eastern HSFO exports to Asia remained low, while inventories at Fujairah stayed high even as they dipped slightly week-on-week.

Fuel oil exports from the Middle East, which are typically high-sulphur barrels, remained under this year’s monthly average levels.

Arrivals from the Middle East to Asia are estimated at less than 1 million tonnes for November, lower than October’s volumes which were slightly above 1 million tonnes, Refinitiv ship-tracking data showed. Monthly volumes averaged at about 1.8 million tonnes in the year so far.

Despite low exports, fuel oil inventories at Fujairah dipped 1% to 14.42 million barrels (2.27 million tonnes) in the week ended Nov. 14, Fujairah Oil Industry Zone data showed on Wednesday.

The inventories have largely trended higher since the second quarter this year, due to more imports from Russia.

Meanwhile, fuel oil cash differentials were stable to slightly firmer on Wednesday. The 180-cst HSFO cash differential climbed $1.34 to a premium of 84 cents, while the 380-cst HSFO cash differential rose 41 cents to a premium of $3.92. The 0.5% very low sulphur fuel oil cash differential also strengthened on Wednesday, edging $1.08 higher to a premium of $5 per tonne.