Residual fuel oil stocks at key trading hub Singapore extended higher to 14-week highs as weekly exports crunched sharply, official data showed on Thursday.

Onshore fuel oil stocks climbed 10%to 22.92 million barrels (3.61 million metric tons) in the week to August 3, data from Enterprise Singapore showed.

Weekly fuel oil exports out of Singapore crunched by nearly 74% as China’s spree for HSFO appears to have eased amid a sharp rally in high-sulphur fuel oil prices, trade sources said.

Singapore’s weekly inventory level has also steadied, after slumping to its second-lowest level for 2023 just two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, weekly net imports, calculated by subtracting total exports from total imports, fell 32% week-on-week at 588,000 metric tons.

Malaysia was the top origin of Singapore’s fuel oil imports, with net import volumes at 213,000 metric tons, followed by Brazil at 196,000 metric tons and the United Arab Emirates at 80,000 metric tons.

Middle East exports to Asia have hit a five-month high of 2.13 million metric tons for July, said Refinitiv Oil Research this week, adding that the attractive high-sulfur market is proving a draw for the Middle East barrels.

Separately, Philippines was the top destination for fuel oil exports out of Singapore, with net export volumes of 39,000 metric tons.

(Data from Enterprise Singapore)
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Sonia Cheema)