By Jeslyn Lerh
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Residual fuel oil stocks at key trading hub Singapore fell to four-week lows, with net imports easing by 19% after jumping last week, official data showed on Thursday.
Onshore fuel oil stocks were down at 23.06 million barrels (3.63 million tonnes) in the week to April 26, sliding 2% from the previous week, based on Enterprise Singapore data. [O/SING1]
Weekly net fuel oil imports, which are calculated by subtracting total exports from total imports, slipped 19% to 702,000 tonnes, after more than doubling in the previous week.
The highest net import volumes came from key blending and ship transfer hub Malaysia at 223,000 tonnes, followed by Kuwait at 107,000 tonnes and Turkey at 83,000 tonnes.
Meanwhile, Thailand displaced China as the top destination for Singapore’s net fuel oil exports, with volumes at 103,000 tonnes, followed by Bangladesh at 15,000 tonnes and Vietnam at 11,000 tonnes.
Cash premiums for the benchmark 0.5% low-sulphur fuel oil grade in Asia posted weekly gains of more than 10% as of this week, though heavy supply arrivals into Asia capped gains.
The 0.5% VLSFO premium closed at $4.22 a tonne over Singapore quotes on Wednesday, staying trapped in single-digit premiums in April so far, pricing data showed.
Apr 26, Fuel oil (in tonnes) Total Imports Total Exports Net Imports
ARGENTINA 36,042 0 36,042
AUSTRALIA 6,404 0 6,404
BANGLADESH 0 15,003 -15,003
BRAZIL 46,768 0 46,768
BRUNEI 0 1 -1
CHINA 4 0 4
GUINEA 0 32 -32
INDIA 3 0 3
INDONESIA 40,311 0 40,311
JAPAN 37,665 0 37,665
KAZAKHSTAN 57,219 0 57,219
KUWAIT 106,769 0 106,769
MALAYSIA 382,929 159,736 223,193
NEPAL 0 148 -148
NEW CALEDONIA 0 1,594 -1,594
RUSSIA 46,225 0 46,225
TAIWAN 21,980 0 21,980
THAILAND 0 103,238 -103,238
TURKEY 82,579 0 82,579
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 72,144 0 72,144
UNITED STATES 55,702 0 55,702
VIETNAM 0 10,950 -10,950
TOTAL 992,742 290,702 702,040
(Data from Enterprise Singapore)
(Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh;Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
