Asia’s very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) cash premiums rebounded after the past few sessions of losses, tracking a slight recovery in prompt paper markets despite persistently limited window activity.
VLSFO premiums closed at around 40 cents per metric ton on Friday, recovering 15 cents from the previous trading session though levels were still lower by more than $3.50 per ton week on week.
In high-sulphur fuel oil markets, traders were looking for clues on forward supply fundamentals while cash premiums eased from the previous trading session to $15.4 per metric ton.
The March-April paper market structure was in a narrower backwardation from the previous session, contributing further to the decline in cash premiums.
Cracking margins for HSFO (FO380BRTCKMc1) against Brent crude and Dubai crude both rounded up the week at slight premiums.
VLSFO cracks (LFO05SGBRTCMc1) fell by around $2 per barrel week on week to a premium of slightly above $8 per barrel.
The market’s hi-5 marker (FO05-380SGMc1) recovered slightly from the previous trading, widening back to around $53 per metric ton.
INVENTORY DATA
– Fuel oil stocks in the ARA region declined by 3% on the week to 1.27 million tons, as exports picked up, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.
OTHER NEWS
– OPEC+ is debating whether to raise oil output in April as planned or freeze it as its members struggle to read the global supply picture because of fresh U.S. sanctions on Venezuela, Iran and Russia, eight OPEC+ sources said.
– Indonesia’s state energy firm Pertamina said a fire that broke out at its Cilacap refinery complex on Thursday has been extinguished and the refinery’s operation is not affected, the company said.
– China’s imports of Russian Far East crude and Iranian oil are set to rebound in March as non-sanctioned tankers, drawn by lucrative payoffs, joined the trade replacing vessels under U.S. embargo, trade sources and analysts said.
WINDOW TRADES
– 180-cst HSFO: No trade
– 380-cst HSFO: No trade
– 0.5% VLSFO: No trade
Source: Reuters