Cash differentials in Asia’s high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) market gained and very low sulphur oil (VLSFO) were steady on Thursday, after stocks at Singapore declined and bunkering sales at UAE’s Fujairah hub jumped in July.

The 380-cst HSFO cash differential FO380-SIN-DIF rose by 50 cents to a premium of $23.25 a metric ton and the 180-cst HSFO cash differential gained 67 cents at $24.42 per ton.

Meanwhile, in the marine fuel market, the 0.5% VLSFO premium were steady at $7.19 a metric ton on Thursday.

INVENTORIES & BUNKER SALES

Bunker sales at the UAE’s Fujairah hub, a key gauge of shipping market sentiment in the Middle East, jumped in July, marking the biggest monthly gain and volume so far in 2023, data from the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ) showed on Thursday.

July bunker volumes, excluding lubricants, were at 659,566 cubic metres, or about 650,000 tons, up 9% month-on-month but 0.8% lower than the same month last year.

Separately, onshore fuel oil stocks at Singapore hub STKRS-SIN fell 2% to 20.1 million barrels (3.15 million tons) in the week to August 16, down for a second straight week, data from Enterprise Singapore showed.

Inventories were tighter on declining net imports, which dropped 19% week on week to 637,236 tons, down from 783,466 tons a week earlier.

OTHER NEWS

– Indian state retailers’ gasoline and diesel sales fell in the first half of August from the previous month and a year ago, preliminary sales data showed on Wednesday, as industrial activity and mobility was hit due to monsoon rains.

– Oil prices were choppy on Thursday after falling over the past three sessions, with the undertone grim on worries that slowing growth in China and possible further U.S. interest rate hikes will weaken fuel demand in the world’s two biggest economies.

WINDOW TRADES O/AS

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

Source: Reuters reported by Mohi Narayan edited by Varun H K