SINGAPORE: A lack of buying interest despite lower supplier offers relative to the previous session for physical cargoes of 380-cst high-sulphur fuel oil in the Singapore trading window weighed on cash premiums of the mainstay fuel on Thursday.
By contrast, relatively stronger bids for 180-cst fuel oil cargoes pushed cash differentials of the fuel higher on Thursday but failed to result in any deals.
Higher deal values on Wednesday pushed 380-cst fuel oil cash premiums to a two-week high while aggressive supplier offers for 180-cst cargoes dragged cash differentials of the 180-cst fuel to a near two-week low.
Meanwhile, Singapore onshore fuel oil stocks slipped to a seven week low over the past week despite a near doubling of net imports into the city-state.
INVENTORIES
– Singapore weekly onshore fuel oil inventories slipped 0.5 percent, or 18,000 tonnes, to 3.51 million tonnes in the week to Nov. 22, official data shows.
– This came despite a 93 percent rise in net imports into Singapore to 830,000 tonnes; a three-week high.
– In the previous week, net imports were at a three-month low of 430,000 tonnes.
– Onshore fuel oil inventories are currently 1.6 percent lower from their year-ago levels.
– Singapore’s net exports of fuel oil to China topped the weekly list (368,000 tonnes); followed by Hong Kong (149,000 tonnes) and Bangladesh (95,000 tonnes).
– The largest Singapore net imports originated from Russia (255,000 tonnes); followed by the US (227,000 tonnes), Iran (167,000 tonnes), and the Netherlands (106,000 tonnes).
– Singapore imports from Iran resumed after a four-week absence while imports from Brazil (101,000 tonnes) were at a six-month high.
WINDOW TRADES
– No cargo trades were reported in the Platts window on Thursday for the first time since Oct. 20.
– A total of 1.14 million tonnes of fuel oil have traded in the window in November so far, against 1.56 million tonnes in October and 1.04 million tonnes in November last year.
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TENDERS
– The UAE’s Adnoc has awarded at least three of four cargoes of 70-80-cst straight-run fuel oil (SRFO) with a maximum 1.2 sulphur content, each 90,000 tonnes in volume, loading from its Ruwais refinery at premiums of about $25-$29 a tonne to Singapore 180-cst fuel oil quotes, industry sources said.
– GS Caltex was awarded two cargoes and Mercuria won one similar cargo, sources said, but the result of the fourth cargo remained unknown.
– The loading dates of the cargoes are Dec. 10-12, 15-17, 20-22 and 25-27.
– Korean refiner SK Energy did not bid for Adnoc’s latest SRFO offering since it had lifted a similar cargo in November, a source with knowledge of the matter said.
– Taiwan’s Formosa sold up to 40,000 tonnes of 380-cst fuel oil with a maximum 4 percent sulphur content loading from Mailiao on Dec. 4-6 to Trafigura at an unknown price level, sources said.
Source: Brecorder.com
