Spot differentials for fuel oil were little changed on Thursday, while onshore inventories at Singapore climbed to their highest in 16 weeks.
The uptick in inventories emerged after imports more than doubled week-on-week. The top supply origins were Brazil, Indonesia and Nigeria.
Asia’s spot benchmarks have been capped in recent trading sessions amid an amply supplied market, trade sources said.
Cash differential for very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) inched slightly higher on Thursday as a trade emerged following days of thin activity, while high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) was stable.
The VLSFO traded at $3 a metric ton over cargo quotes, similar to a deal done one week ago.
However, fuel oil cracks closed at weaker values versus the previous day despite a slide in crude prices.
Singapore 380-cst HSFO crack (FO380BRTCKMc1) fell to a discount near 90 cents a barrel on Thursday, while VLSFO crack (LFO05SGBRTCMc1) retreated to a premium of $9.25 a barrel, showed data compiled by LSEG.
INVENTORY DATA – Singapore onshore fuel oil stockpiles (STKRS-SIN) were at 22.02 million barrels (about 3.47 million metric tons) in the week to April 9, up 4.5% from the previous week and hovering above typical averages, showed Enterprise Singapore data.
Source: Reuters
