Asia’s spot market for 180-cst high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) firmed on Tuesday as a stronger bid emerged and traded, while 380-cst HSFO differentials also extended gains.

The HSFO market has rebounded recently on the back of lower supply expectations, as the Middle East typically exports less cargoes as it enters into its summer months.

Cargo arrivals from the Middle East to Asia declined to about 1.3 million tons in April, versus volumes that were over 2 million tons in March, calculations based on LSEG ship-tracking data showed, while volumes for loading in May were at about 1.4 million tons so far.

Meanwhile, recovery in the very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) market was lagging due to the presence of multiple sellers and offers that met with thin buying interest.

Spot demand in the VLSFO bunker fuel market has shown little recovery in recent trade sessions, with trade sources saying that premiums remain stuck in the low $10s per metric ton range.

OTHER NEWS

– Oil was largely steady on Tuesday after Israel-Hamas talks offered hopes of a ceasefire even as Red Sea attacks continued, while investors awaited signals on U.S. interest rates ahead of a key meeting on Wednesday.

– Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia may raise prices for most of the crude grades it sells to Asia in June to their highest levels in five months after Middle East benchmarks strengthened this month, trade sources said.

– China’s top energy producer PetroChina posted a 4.7% rise in first-quarter net income on Monday helped by growth in natural gas and a recovery in fuel demand.

– India’s Chennai Petroleum Corp Ltd will build a 180,000-barrels-per-day refinery at Nagapattinam in Southern Tamil Nadu State by the end of 2027, two years later than initially planned, its head of finance Rohit Kumar Agrawala said.

WINDOW TRADES

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

Source: Reuters reported by Jeslyn Lerh and edited by Vijay Kishore