Meanwhile, the spot cash premium for 380-cst high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) remained stable at $7.25 a tonne on Wednesday, while refining margins rose to a discount of $10.69 a barrel.
The front-month Hi-5, which is the price difference between 0.5% VLSFO and 380-cst HSFO, narrowed further to $115.50 a tonne on Thursday, Refinitiv data showed. The price difference has crunched since end-January amid a weakening low-sulphur market that came under pressure due to steady supplies and lukewarm bunkering demand.
SINGAPORE INVENTORIES Onshore fuel oil stocks were at 23.52 million barrels (3.70 million tonnes) in the week to April 19, stable from the previous week, based on Enterprise Singapore data. Weekly net fuel oil imports, which are calculated by subtracting total exports from total imports, more than doubled to 870,000 tonnes. The rebound came after three weeks of declines. The largest net import volumes came from Brazil at 298,000 tonnes, as Western supplies to Asia remained strong for April. This was followed by the United Arab Emirates at 169,000 tonnes and Mexico at 139,000 tonnes, the data showed.
OTHER NEWS
- Oil prices fell to their lowest in about three weeks on Thursday, depressed by a firmer dollar and rate hike expectations which outweighed lower U.S. crude stocks. - China may cut quotas for refined oil products exports in a second batch for 2023 as domestic demand improves while the need to boost its economy through oil products abates, a Reuters survey showed.
- Keppel Infrastructure and U.S. oil producer ExxonMobil signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia solutions for use in Singapore, the companies said in a joint statement on Thursday - Pakistan has placed its first order for discounted Russian crude oil under a new deal struck between Islamabad and Moscow, the country's petroleum minister said, with one cargo to dock at Karachi port in May.
WINDOW TRADES - 180-cst HSFO: No trade - 380-cst HSFO: No trade - 0.5% VLSFO: No trade
ASSESSMENTS
FUEL OIL
CASH ($/T) ASIA CLOSE CHANGE PREV CLOSE RIC
Cargo - 0.5% VLSFO 567.47 -17.57 585.04 Diff - 0.5% VLSFO 3.45 -0.28 3.73 Cargo - 180cst 455.67 -7.37 463.04 Diff - 180cst 2.53 0.22 2.31 Cargo - 380cst 455.43 -7.17 462.60 Diff - 380cst 7.25 0.00 7.25 Bunker (Ex-wharf) Premium - 380cst 11.00 0.00 11.00
Bunker (Ex-wharf) Premium - 0.5% VLSFO 9.00 0.00 9.00
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 Varun H K)
