Asia’s cash premiums for 380-cst high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) slipped to a two-week low, as selling interest gained momentum against a backdrop of declining exports from key bunkering hub Singapore.
Trafigura was the major seller on the window, closing both deals at lower premiums from the previous trading session.
December refining margins for 380-cst HSFO meanwhile were little changed in the past three trading sessions, holding its ground at discounts of slightly below $7 per barrel.
A narrower backwardation between November and December swap markets weighed further on cash premiums, with declines mostly capped by the plentiful competitively priced bids on the window.
In very-low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) markets, deals were scant on the window but lower-priced sellers were aplenty and cash premiums slipped to below $10 per ton.
INVENTORIES
– U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose last week as exports declined, while fuel inventories also grew on weaker demand, despite record product exports, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.
– Onshore storage volumes of fuel oil at the Singapore trading hub recovered this week as exports fell to their lowest levels in nearly five months, official data showed on Thursday.
NEWS
– China’s crude oil imports fell 9% in October, data showed on Thursday, a sixth consecutive monthly year-on-year decline, as a plant closure at a state oil refinery adds to weaker demand from independent refiners.
– India’s fuel consumption in October rose by 2.9% year-on-year to 20.04 million metric tons, oil ministry data showed on Wednesday, driven by strong economic activity.
– Oil prices ticked up on Thursday following a sell-off triggered by the U.S. presidential election, as risks to oil supply from a Trump presidency and a hurricane building in the Gulf Coast outweighed a stronger dollar and lower crude imports in top importer China.
– China faces a squeeze on supplies of cheap Iranian crude, which make up about 13% of imports by the world’s biggest buyer of oil if Donald Trump ramps up enforcement of sanctions on Tehran after his return as U.S. president in January.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Trixie Yap; Editing by Vijay Kishore)