Asia’s cash differential for very-low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) closed the trading week in a discount to Singapore quotes on Friday as bearish fundamentals weighed.

Spot 0.5% VLSFO MFO05-SIN-DIF was pegged at a discount of 45 cents per metric ton, though the product’s front-month crack LFO05SGDUBCMc1 rebounded slightly day-on-day at a premium of $8.41 a barrel.

Meanwhile, cash differential for 380-cst high sulphur fuel oil FO380-SIN-DIF was pegged at a premium of $13.25 a ton, while front-month crack FO380DUBCKMc1 edged higher to a discount of $6.87 a barrel on Friday.

The premium for 0.5% VLSFO over 380-cst HSFO, also known as the Hi-5 spread, crunched by 9% in the month so far, based on Refinitiv data. The front-month Hi-5 spread closed at $97 a ton at Friday’s Asia close.

SINGAPORE BUNKER SALES

Bunker sales fell to four-month lows in Singapore in June, though bio-blended bunker sales for the first half of 2023 have surpassed 2022 volumes, official data showed on Friday.

Bunker sales at Singapore totalled 3.93 million metric tons in June, down 13.1% month-on-month, though 4.7% higher year-on-year, Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) data showed.

Meanwhile, sales of bio-blended low-sulphur fuel oil totalled 189,500 metric tons for the first half of 2023, exceeding a total of 140,200 metric tons seen for the whole of 2022, based on the latest data.

ARA INVENTORIES STK-FO-ARA

Inventories at ARA dipped 0.4% at 1.39 million tons in the week to July 13, latest data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.

OTHER NEWS

– Oil prices were set for a third consecutive weekly gain for the first time since April, rising on Friday due to supply disruptions in Libya and Nigeria, and hopes of higher demand for crude due to easing U.S. inflation.

– Shell has suspended loadings of Nigeria’s Forcados crude oil due to a potential leak at the export terminal, a spokesperson for its local subsidiary, SPDC, said on Thursday.

– Exxon Mobil Corp agreed to buy Denbury Inc for $4.9 billion to accelerate its energy transition business with an established carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration operation.

– The sudden suspension of a Venezuelan contract that had boosted its exports of petroleum coke has led to a bottleneck of vessels waiting to load and sent customers scrambling for alternative supplies, according to sources and data.

WINDOW TRADES O/AS

– 180-cst HSFO: No trade
– 380-cst HSFO: No trade
– 0.5% VLSFO: One trade

Source: Reuters reported by Jeslyn Lerh and edited by Shweta Agarwal