Total fuel oil supplies to Asia are expected to surpass 4 million tonnes in February, Refinitiv ship-tracking data showed as of Tuesday, steady to lower from January.
The slightly softer trend was led by less exports from regional producers in Asia, as relatively higher refining margins for gasoline prompted a switch in production away from heavy distillates. Front-month gasoline cracks have climbed above low sulphur fuel oil cracks since early December, data showed.
Meanwhile, the high sulphur fuel oil market remained under downward pressure this week amid expectations of steady arrivals from Russia and the Middle East.
The cash differential for 180-cst HSFO slid further on Tuesday to a discount of $5.92 a tonne, after slumping to eight-month lows in the previous session.
The spot 380-cst HSFO market also extended declines, slipping to parity over Singapore quotes on Tuesday, with four cargoes trading at this value.
OTHER NEWS
- Oil prices rose on Tuesday, driven by China's demand recovery optimism and supply shortage concerns amid the shutdown of a major export terminal after an earthquake in Turkey.
- Indonesia's state energy company Pertamina is targeting oil and gas lifting in 2023 of around 900,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), up 5% from the previous year, chief executive Nicke Widyawati told a parliamentary hearing.
- India's proposal for a biofuels alliance to promote cleaner fuel has attracted interest from a number of countries, including Russia and Brazil, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said.
- BP reported a record profit of $27.6 billion in 2022 which was lifted by a surge in energy prices since Russia's invasion of Ukraine as the company also boosted its dividend by 10%. WINDOW TRADES - 180-cst HSFO: No trade - 380-cst HSFO: Four trades - 0.5% VLSFO: No trade
ASSESSMENTS
FUEL OIL
CASH ($/T) ASIA CLOSE CHANGE PREV CLOSE RIC
Cargo - 0.5% VLSFO 617.53 13.79 603.74 Diff - 0.5% VLSFO 22.20 -0.48 22.68 Cargo - 180cst 373.45 12.69 360.76 Diff - 180cst -5.92 -1.03 -4.89 Cargo - 380cst 368.03 12.53 355.50 Diff - 380cst 0.00 -0.95 0.95 Bunker (Ex-wharf) Premium - 380cst 6.50 -1.00 7.50
Bunker (Ex-wharf) Premium - 0.5% VLSFO 26.50 1.50 25.00
For a list of derivatives prices, including
margins, please double click the RICs below.
Brent M1 180cst M1 180cst M1/M2 180cst M2 Visco M1 Visco M2 380cst M1 380cst M1/M2 380cst M2 Cracks 180-Dubai M1 Cracks 180-Dubai M2 East-West M1 East-West M2 Barges M1 Barges M1/M2 Barges M2 Crack Barges-Brent M1 Crack Barges-Brent M2 (Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
