Kuwait's KPC sought 80,000 tonnes of high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) for delivery between April 10 and 11, while Taiwan's CPC offered 22,000 tonnes of catalytic fractionator bottoms (CFB) for loading in April. Both tenders close on Thursday.
Singapore's 0.5% very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) cash differential inched lower to $6.09 a tonne on Thursday, as market backwardation softened from the previous day.
The 0.5% VLSFO front-month crack rose slightly from the previous session to $8.65 a barrel at the Asia close (0830 GMT). Meanwhile, the market structure for 380-cst HSFO firmed, while Singapore's spot 380-cst HSFO premium was flat at $8 a tonne. The front-month 380-cst HSFO crack inched slightly higher to a discount of $12.53 a barrel at the Asia close.
SINGAPORE INVENTORIES Onshore fuel oil stocks fell 2% at 22.58 million barrels (3.56 million tonnes) in the week ended March 29, latest Enterprise Singapore data showed. The decline came amid a drop in net fuel oil imports, which slid 31% to 562,000 tonnes.
Top net imports were from Saudi Arabia at 188,000 tonnes, followed by Malta at 88,000 tonnes and Kuwait at 72,000 tonnes.
Bangladesh remained the top destination for Singapore's net fuel oil exports for a second consecutive week, with volumes at 89,000 tonnes, followed by the Philippines at 46,000 tonnes and China at 26,000 tonnes.
OTHER NEWS
- Oil was steady on Thursday as a surprise drop in U.S. crude stockpiles offset a smaller-than-expected cut to Russian supplies, while investors closely watched developments on Iraqi Kurdistan oil exports.
- Zhejiang Petrochemical Corp (ZPC), operator of China's largest refinery, said on Thursday it has reached a strategic agreement with state refining giant Sinopec on the domestic marketing of its fuel. - Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft and India's top refiner Indian Oil Corp have signed a term agreement to substantially increase oil supplies and diversify oil grades delivered to India, Rosneft said. - Syria's port authority has shut down all the country's sea ports including Tartous due to poor weather and high winds, state media reported.
WINDOW TRADES - 180-cst HSFO: No trade - 380-cst HSFO: No trade - 0.5% VLSFO: No trade
ASSESSMENTS
FUEL OIL
CASH ($/T) ASIA CLOSE CHANGE PREV CLOSE RIC
Cargo - 0.5% VLSFO 549.95 -0.65 550.6 Diff - 0.5% VLSFO 6.09 -0.36 6.45 Cargo - 180cst 420.45 1.30 419.15 Diff - 180cst 1.25 0.38 0.87 Cargo - 380cst 417.10 1.11 415.99 Diff - 380cst 8.00 0.00 8.00 Bunker (Ex-wharf) Premium - 380cst 12.00 0.00 12.00
Bunker (Ex-wharf) Premium - 0.5% VLSFO 10.00 0.00 10.00
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 Rashmi Aich)
