Asia’s cash differentials for fuel oil were rangebound on Tuesday amid thin trade, though the market structure weakened for the prompt months.

Reflecting easing prompt supplies, the July/August timespread for 0.5% very-low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) was pegged at $16.25 a ton at Tuesday’s Asia close, compared with $17.25 a ton on Monday.

Cash premium MFO05-SIN-DIF was little changed at $15.82 a metric ton to cargo quotes, while front-month refining crack LFO05SGDUBCMc1 closed at a premium of $12.55 a barrel at 0830 GMT.

High sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) weakened slightly. The 380-cst cash premium FO380-SIN-DIF dipped to $2.65 a ton on Tuesday, while market backwardation narrowed day-on-day to $4.75 a ton.

Front-month crack spread for 380-cst HSFO FO380DUBCKMc1 also softened, closing at a discount of $8.24 a barrel.

OTHER NEWS

– Oil prices slipped on Tuesday ahead of data shedding light on U.S. appetite for fuel during the summer driving season, with the Brent benchmark’s price structure indicating bulls are retreating.

– India’s Bharat Petroleum Corp plans to shut down half of its crude processing capacity at its 240,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Mumbai refinery in western India for a month from Sept. 21 for maintenance, a company spokesman said on Tuesday.

– Petronas said on Tuesday it has signed a development agreement with TotalEnergies Carbon Neutrality Ventures and Mitsui & Co Ltd to collaborate on a carbon capture and storage project in Malaysia.

– The U.S. Department of Agriculture will spend $450 million to expand the production and availability of transportation fuels that are blended with higher volumes of biofuels, the agency said.

Source: Reuters reported by Jeslyn Lerh and edited by Shilpi Majumdar