Total fuel oil supplies to Asia could have breached 6 million tonnes this month, based on latest Refinitiv ship-tracking data, though some cargoes have yet to discharge and could spill into May arrival.
The heavy inflows continued to be dominated by a strong influx of Russian barrels, the data showed, though Middle Eastern exports to Asia appeared to have softened from the previous month. Refining margins for 380-cst high sulphur fuel oil retreated on Tuesday after climbing to 11-month highs the previous day, with the front-month crack dipping to a discount of $10.26 a barrel at the Asia close (0830 GMT).
Meanwhile, the margin for 0.5% very-low sulphur fuel oil rose to a premium of $8.52 a barrel on Tuesday, while cash premium climbed for a third consecutive session to $4.57 a tonne over Singapore quotes. The premium has staged a mild rebound since early-April, but remains trapped in small single digits as ample supplies weighed.
OTHER NEWS
- Oil edged higher on Tuesday, supported by investor optimism that holiday travel in China would boost fuel demand and by expectations U.S. inventories would show a drop in crude stocks. - Iraq's northern oil exports showed few concrete signs of an imminent restart after a month of standstill, as aspects of an agreement between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have yet to be resolved, according to four sources.
- Global diesel margins have slumped by about half since February, dragging on refiners' profits, as Russian exports continue despite sanctions, helping output from China and India reach all-time highs in March.
- BP's 97,000 barrels per day refinery at Lingen in Germany was taken offline for a planned big revision in mid-April whose length cannot at this stage be revealed, operator BP <BP.L > said in a written note received on April 24.
WINDOW TRADES - 180-cst HSFO: No trade - 380-cst HSFO: No trade - 0.5% VLSFO: No trade
ASSESSMENTS
FUEL OIL
CASH ($/T) ASIA CLOSE CHANGE PREV CLOSE RIC
Cargo - 0.5% VLSFO 579.78 13.32 566.46 Diff - 0.5% VLSFO 4.57 0.15 4.42 Cargo - 180cst 464.87 9.17 455.70 Diff - 180cst 3.01 -0.09 3.10 Cargo - 380cst 462.94 8.33 454.61 Diff - 380cst 6.75 -0.25 7.00 Bunker (Ex-wharf) Premium - 380cst 12.00 0.00 12.00
Bunker (Ex-wharf) Premium - 0.5% VLSFO 10.00 0.50 9.50
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 Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
