Asia spot fuel oil markets were little changed on Wednesday as trading momentum slowed compared to the previous day, while market sources awaited more sales tenders for June.
The cash differential for very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) was pegged at $6.50 a metric ton to Singapore quotes.
Despite recent support for VLSFO, market sources eyed a bearish outlook with expectations of more supply.
Meanwhile, high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) market held at discounts near $2 a ton, with activity slowing after a flurry of trades the previous day.
Prompt refining cracks for HSFO closed at premiums near $1 a barrel, while VLSFO margins (LFO05SGBRTCMc1) were at premiums of about $11.50 a barrel.
REFINERY UPDATES
– Venezuela’s second largest refinery, Cardon, restarted its fluid catalytic cracker which had been out of service for more than a year due to a failure and lack of raw materials, four sources close to operations said Tuesday.
– Japan’s largest refiner, Eneos Corp, restarted two crude distillation units at its Kawasaki refinery near Tokyo on May 4 following an unplanned shutdown, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday.
OTHER NEWS
– Oil prices rose about 1% on Wednesday, gaining for a second session, finding support from positive investor sentiment over U.S.-China trade talks to be held this weekend and signs of lower U.S. shale output.
– Energy giant ExxonMobil is set to inject $1.5 billion into the development of its deepwater operations in Nigeria, the country’s oil regulator said on Wednesday.
– Brazil’s Petrobras is looking to attract foreign investments to boost local shipyards, said the state-run oil firm’s CEO Magda Chambriard on Tuesday.
– Aster Chemicals and Energy will acquire Chevron Phillips Singapore Chemicals through its affiliate Chandra Asri Capital, the companies said on Wednesday.
WINDOW TRADES
– 180-cst HSFO: No trade
– 380-cst HSFO: No trade
– 0.5% VLSFO: No trade
Source: Reuters