Spot fuel oil markets were broadly stable on Thursday, while weekly inventories at Singapore drew lower as net imports eased.
Singapore cash premium for very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) was pegged slightly below $5.50 a metric ton, reflecting largely rangebound bids and offers from the previous day.
Meanwhile, 380-cst HSFO was pegged at $13.25 a metric ton, reflecting a slightly narrower backwardation day-on-day.
Onshore fuel oil inventories at Singapore retreated this week after building for two straight weeks. Despite the weekly decline, stockpiles still averaged higher from last month.
Incoming supplies to wider Asia remained heavy in recent weeks, which capped gains in price benchmarks.
Refining margins remained rangebound on Thursday, with VLSFO cracks closing between premiums of $12.50 to $13 a barrel, while 380-cst HSFO cracks closed at discounts of $5.50 to $6 a barrel, based on LSEG data at 0830 GMT.
INVENTORY DATA
– Singapore onshore fuel oil stockpiles STKRS-SIN slipped 7.4% to 16.98 million barrels (about 2.67 million metric tons) in the week to Nov. 20, based on Enterprise Singapore.
OTHER NEWS
– Oil slipped on Tuesday, pressured by the restart of production at Norway’s Johan Sverdrup oilfield, although investor caution arising from fears of an escalation in the Russia-Ukraine war limited the decline.
– Sinochem Group may keep three bankrupt oil refineries located in eastern China after auctions to sell them drew little interest from other companies, sources familiar with the matter said.
– Koch Industries is cutting or facing departures of employees across its trading division, several sources familiar with the matter said.
– Major oil and gas companies have ramped up investments in the biofuels sector, betting on sustainable aviation fuel, with 43 projects expected to be up and running by 2030, consultancy Rystad said in a report.
WINDOW TRADES O/AS
– 180-cst HSFO: No trade
– 380-cst HSFO: No trade
– 0.5% VLSFO: No trade
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Devika Syamnath)