Cash differentials for spot fuel oil were rangebound on Thursday, while latest data showed inventories at Singapore extended a drawdown for a second consecutive week.

The high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) market continued to hold in discounts amid ample supplies regionally, while Chinese demand faced a lull amid the Lunar New Year holidays.

The very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) market was steady, with cash premiums holding above $7 a metric ton.

Trade sources are expecting lower February arbitrage supplies to provide a floor to the market, though demand on the marine bunkers front recently slowed compared to December and January, they added.

Refining cracks for fuel oil dipped on Thursday, with 380-cst HSFO margins closing at discounts of around $13.40 a barrel, while VLSFO cracks eased slightly below premiums of $14 a barrel.

BUNKER SALES

Marine bunker sales in Singapore kickstarted 2024 on a firm note, latest data from Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority showed.

January sales climbed 12.1% year-on-year as shipping disruptions in the Red Sea spurred more ships to refuel in the city-state.

Vessel calls for bunkering rose for a second month, though tighter availability of bunker barges led to a slight dip in bunker sales compared to December.

INVENTORY DATA

– Singapore inventories fell 7.8% to 20.10 million barrels (3.17 million metric tons) in the week to Feb. 14, based on Enterprise Singapore data.

OTHER NEWS

– Oil prices fell on Thursday after a larger-than-expected jump in U.S. crude inventories, raising concerns about demand in the world’s largest economy and top oil consuming nation.

– Nigeria’s Dangote oil refinery has issued tenders to sell two fuel cargoes for export, the first from the newly commissioned refinery, trading sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

– A week after an oil spill was first spotted near Tobago’s shore, portions of the stain are moving in opposite directions into the Caribbean Sea, the island’s emergency management agency said on Wednesday, putting the country’s neighbors on alert.

– Norwegian oil and gas companies plan to invest record amounts this year and next, amid a boom in offshore fields developments, with the increases also partly driven by cost inflation, a national statistics office survey showed on Thursday.

WINDOW TRADES

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

Source: Reuters reported by Jeslyn Lerh edited by Shailesh Kuber