Spot discounts for Asia high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) widened further on Thursday, while onshore inventories at Singapore piled higher amid ample supply.

Inventories rose for a second week as imports remained strong, led by an uptick in Nigeria and Brazil cargo inflows, latest data showed.

More offers also emerged for the 180-cst grade on Thursday, with wide discounts seen on floating storage material.

Benchmarks for 380-cst HSFO also extended declines as offers posted steeper discounts.

The market continued to come under pressure despite prospects of higher Chinese import demand amid tax rebates for some selected refineries.

Cracks for 380-cst HSFO also logged wider discounts to crude futures, LSEG data showed.

The hi-5 marker widened to around $84.80 a ton on Thursday.

INVENTORY DATA

– Singapore residual fuel inventories stood at 23.38 million barrels (about 3.68 million metric tons) in the week to July 2, up 3.9% from the previous week, based on Enterprise Singapore.

OTHER NEWS

– Oil prices fell on Thursday after gaining 3% in the previous session as investors are wary higher U.S. tariffs may be reinstated, which could cause lower fuel demand, and as major producers are expected to announce an output hike.
– The European Union has increased the maximum capacity of electricity imports from Ukraine by 38.5%, giving Kyiv a chance to earn money to rebuild power facilities destroyed by Russian attacks, Ukraine’s energy ministry said on Thursday.
– Libya’s Arabian Gulf Oil Company has completed repairs to a crude oil pipeline leak along the 18-inch Hamada-Zawiya line, it said on Thursday, after an oil leak in late May.
– Commodities trader Glencore is in talks with the British government over the status of its supply and offtake contract with the insolvent Lindsey oil refinery, according to a source familiar with the situation.

WINDOW TRADES

– 180-cst HSFO: No trade
– 380-cst HSFO: Three trades
– 0.5% VLSFO: Two trades
Source: Reuters