Onshore fuel oil stockpiles at key trading hub Singapore recovered following three weeks of declines, with imports largely stable while exports retreated, data showed on Thursday.

Residual fuel inventories were at 21.51 million barrels (about 3.39 million metric tons) in the week to May 21, hitting three-week highs, Enterprise Singapore data showed.

Total fuel oil exports out of the tanks fell 40% week-on-week to about 310,000 tons, with most volumes heading for Hong Kong, Bangladesh and China.

Meanwhile, total imports dipped 1% but remained above 840,000 tons, as with the previous week. The majority of import cargoes came from Indonesia in the week.

Western arbitrage volumes to the wider Asia region continued to stay strong this month, based on trade flow assessments from LSEG Oil Research.

Reflecting ample supplies, Singapore spot differentials for high-sulphur fuel oil held near parity with cargo quotes, while differentials for low-sulphur fuel oil were rangebound in trading sessions this week.
Source: Reuters