Residual fuel oil stocks at key trading hub Singapore fell for a second straight week, official data showed Thursday, as aggressive selling interest seen during the past two weeks continued in the bunker market due to weaker demand for ship refuelling, according to trade sources.

Onshore fuel oil stocks fell 2% to 20.17 million barrels (3.18 million tonnes) in the week ended March 8, Enterprise Singapore data showed.

Net fuel oil imports rose 30% to 652,000 tonnes in the same week. Saudi Arabia supplied 151,000 tonnes, followed by Brazil at 149,000 tonnes and the Netherlands at 138,000 tonnes.

Meanwhile, top destinations for Singapore’s net fuel oil exports were South Korea at 41,000 tonnes, New Caledonia at 35,000 tonnes and Thailand at 20,000 tonnes.

Incoming supplies showed no signs of abating into March, even as some trade sources said that they expect April arbitrage inflows to tighten slightly.

Total fuel oil supplies to Asia, most of which end up in key trading hub Singapore, are estimated between 5.5 to 6.0 million tonnes for March, staying firm compared to February, based on Refinitiv Oil Research this week.

Russian supplies to Asia for March were notionally assessed at 3.18 million mt, according to Refinitiv, which would set a record for a second straight month.

Source: Reuters