Asia price benchmarks for both very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) and high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) firmed up slightly on Tuesday, driven by support in the derivatives market structure.

Cash premium for 0.5% VLSFO MFO05-SIN-DIF rose to $7.84 a metric ton, while margins LFO05SGDUBCMc1 closed higher at premiums of $13.62 a barrel.

Meanwhile, 380-cst HSFO cash premium FO380-SIN-DIF was pegged higher at $4.25 a metric ton, while refining cracks FO380DUBCKMc1 climbed to discounts of $9.80 a barrel.

But ample supplies capped further uptick. Asia’s total fuel oil arrivals could exceed 6 million tons in December, comparing 20% higher than November, based on LSEG Oil Research this week.

The uptick in supplies was mainly driven by a surge in western arbitrage arrivals, ship-tracking data showed.

OTHER NEWS

– Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday as investors eyed the impact on oil supply after attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militants on ships in the Red Sea disrupted maritime trade and forced companies to reroute vessels.

– Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militants’ attacks on ships in the Red Sea are disrupting maritime trade and prompting U.S. efforts to build a coalition to deal with the threat, as freight firms reroute around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Suez Canal.

– Turkey and Turkish companies have saved around $2 billion on energy bills in 2023 by raising imports of discounted Russian oil and refined products, Reuters calculation based on LSEG data and traders’ estimates showed, and Ankara wants to buy more from its neighbour despite Western sanctions.

– Crude oil is flooding out of Texas in the final weeks of 2023, as traders find outlets abroad for record U.S. production and dodge a hefty year-end tax bill on their inventories.

WINDOW TRADES O/AS

– 180-cst HSFO: No trade
– 380-cst HSFO: No trade
– 0.5% VLSFO: One trade
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Arun Koyyur)