Asia fuel oil cracks extended a slide on Wednesday amid recent gains in crude prices, while spot differentials for key fuel oil grades were stable in thin activity.

Singapore 380-cst high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO)-Dubai crack fell to a discount of about $7 a barrel, hitting its lowest since early November, based on LSEG data.

Meanwhile, the very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) crack slipped day-on-day to a premium near $7.50 a barrel.

The market will closely watch August supplies to Asia after shipments jumped in July versus June.

At least 3 million tons of fuel oil are expected to arrive for August, with more shipments to emerge in the coming weeks, calculations based on ship-tracking data showed.

In tenders, India’s HPCL offered two HSFO cargoes for loading from Vizag between August 23 and 25, based on shipping fixtures.

INVENTORY DATA

– Fujairah heavy fuel inventories (FUJHD04) slipped 23.2% to 7.94 million barrels (1.25 million tons) in the week to July 28, FOIZ data published by S&P Global Commodity Insights showed.

OTHER NEWS

– Oil prices took a breather in Asian trade on Wednesday after the previous session’s spike of more than 3%, as investors awaited developments from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tighter deadline for Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
– China’s Shandong Yulong Petrochemical has bought its first Canadian crude oil cargoes exported via the Trans Mountain pipeline for September and October delivery, trade sources said, as the new refiner diversifies its supplies.
– The owners of three vessels chartered by India’s Nayara Energy have asked to end their contracts with company, six sources familiar with the matter said, under pressure from EU sanctions imposed on the Russian-owned refiner.
– Dutch tank storage company Vopak raised its 2025 core profit forecast, citing strong first-half results and the resilience of its terminal network.

WINDOW TRADES

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