Lead times are steady in Singapore and Fujairah, while HSFO and VLSFO supplies have tightened across South Korea this week.
Lead times remain steady for bunker fuel oils in Singapore, with 7-8 days recommended for VLSFO and HSFO380 supply. LSMGO continues to be more readily available at 4-5 days ahead.

Singapore’s residual fuel oil stocks fell by another 2% in the week to 1 September and dropped below its five-year average position, according to Enterprise Singapore data.

The bunkering hub imported 961,000 bbls more fuel oil on the week, which was a six-week high. Exports rose by 1.33 million bbls to their highest levels since late July.

Fujairah’s lead times are unchanged on the week. HSFO380 requires up to 11 days in the UAE bunkering hub – one of the longest lead times across major East of Suez ports. A shorter seven days are recommended for low sulphur fuel grades in Fujairah.

Bunker fuel oil supply has tightened in South Korean ports, pushing prices to bigger premiums over regional bunker hubs.

Two of South Korea’s four refiners halted fuel oil imports for September delivery, curbing supply to the country’s ports. The refiners responded to a period of weaker demand. One of them has later run out of VLSFO to sell in the bunker market.

Recent maintenance work at a refinery also cut back domestic production capacity, and supply is expected to be tight through September, sources say.

HSFO380 has also tightened in Zhoushan this week, as two of the five suppliers that stock HSFO380 in the Chinese port do not have sufficient availability of the product right now. VLSFO and LSMGO are in good supply in Zhoushan, however.

At the same time, the nearby port of Shanghai is well supplied with all three fuel grades.

Japan’s low sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) inventories rose to their highest levels since mid-June last week, according to data from the Petroleum Association of Japan. The stocks grew on the back of a 42% production increase. Higher production has freed up LSFO for exports, which rose to their highest level since mid-April.

Tokyo’s times continue to stand at 4-5 days for VLSFO and LSMGO, coming down from 7-8 days in July. HSFO380 requires up to seven days in advance in the Japanese capital.

Source: ENGINE