Refining margins and spot cash premiums for fuel oil were steady to softer in Asia on Friday, with some key Middle Eastern tenders underway.

Meanwhile, Kuwait’s national oil company KPC offered 80,000 tonnes of spot 380-cst high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) for loading between Feb. 14 and Feb. 15, in a tender that closes Friday.

The front-month 380-cst HSFO refining crack (FO380DUBCKMc1) fell to a discount of $20.11 a barrel at Friday’s Asia close (0830 GMT), though posted mild weekly gains from last week.

Margins for 0.5% very low sulphur fuel oil also softened on Friday. The front-month crack (LFO05SGDUBCMc1) was at a premium of $13.16 a barrel at the Asia close, Refinitiv data showed.

ARA INVENTORIES (STK-FO-ARA)

Fuel oil inventories in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub rebounded 1% to 1.18 million tonnes in the week ended Feb. 9, latest data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.

OTHER NEWS

WINDOW TRADES

– 180-cst HSFO: No trade
– 380-cst HSFO: No trade
– 0.5% VLSFO: One trade
Source: Reuters