Asia’s cash premiums for very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) on Wednesday snapped their nine-day winning streak after Fujairah stocks rose to the highest level in two weeks.

The spot premium was at $23.61 a tonne to Singapore quotes, compared with $24.23 a tonne on Friday. (MFO05-SIN-DIF)

At the Singapore trading window, energy trader PetroChina bought 40,000 tonnes of 380-cst high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO), while bids could not match offers for VLSFO, resulting in no deals.

380-cst HSFO market also weakened with the spot premium falling by 38 cents to $4.67 per tonne to Singapore quotes. (FO380-SIN-DIF)

INVENTORIES

Fuel oil stocks at the Fujairah trading hub increased by 947,000 barrels to 9.912 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 23, S&P Global Commodity Insights data showed.

Oil slipped on Wednesday, adding to a decline in the previous session, as a rise in U.S. crude inventories and global recession worries edged out optimism for a demand recovery in China.

U.S. oil refining margins on Tuesday hit a three-month high and are likely to climb higher, analysts said, as unplanned refinery outages weigh on already-tight fuel supplies.
Source: Reuters