Asia’s high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) market held in discounts on Tuesday as persistent selling interest and multiple offers continued to cap recovery in the market.
The Singapore 380-cst HSFO cash differential was pegged at a discount of $3.92 a metric ton on Tuesday, while cracks FO380DUBCKMc1 held at discounts of about $10 a barrel.

A stream of offers have emerged daily since the start of the month, with an ample supply pool weighing on the broader market, still comprising mainly Russian barrels, trade sources said.

Meanwhile, very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) also eased. Support had previously emerged amid strong bunkering demand, but the strength waned as high supply inventories capped prices.

The 0.5% VLSFO cash differential fell to a premium of $4.88 a metric ton, while margins LFO05SGDUBCMc1 eased to premiums of about $12.50 a barrel.

OTHER NEWS

– Oil prices inched up on Tuesday as investors waited to see whether a Middle East trip by top U.S. diplomat Antony Blinken will bring a halt to the Gaza war, which has raised concerns about supplies from the major producing region.

– India’s Bharat Petroleum Corp plans to shut a 4.5 million metric ton-per-year (90,000 barrels per day) crude unit and some secondary units for 30 days at its Kochi refinery during September-October, a company executive said on Tuesday.

– India’s MPRL plans a three-week long maintenance shutdown of a 6 million metric ton per year crude unit and some secondary units during July to September, Managing Director Sanjay Varma said on Tuesday.

– Malaysia’s Pengerang Refining and Petrochemical (PRefChem) has shut its sole crude distillation unit and some downstream units for planned maintenance, three sources familiar with the matter said.

WINDOW TRADES O/AS

– 180-cst HSFO: No trade
– 380-cst HSFO: No trade
– 0.5% VLSFO: Two trades
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)