Onshore fuel oil stockpiles at key storage hub Singapore rebounded this week after slumping to a 5-1/2-year low last week, data showed.

The inventories climbed 7.7% to 16.99 million barrels (2.68 million metric tons) in the week ended May 29, reaching a two-week high, Enterprise Singapore data showed.

Stockpile levels have drawn lower in recent weeks as incoming supplies to Asia fell, with the Middle East exporting less cargo during its summer months on peak domestic demand.

Fuel oil inventories averaged 18.09 million barrels a week in May, extending a slide from an average of 20.80 million barrels in April and 20.97 million barrels in March.

The recent drawdown in inventories and supplies have kept fuel oil price benchmarks supported for high-sulphur fuel oil, with cracks for the 380-cst grade holding near a nine-month high this week.

Supplies to the wider Asia region eased for a second straight month, remaining below 6 million tons in May, ship-tracking data from LSEG Oil Research showed.

On exports, the top destinations for fuel oil outflows from Singapore onshore tanks included South Korea, the Philippines and Hong Kong, based on Enterprise Singapore.

Meanwhile, most of Singapore’s fuel oil inflows originated from the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia in the week ended May 29.

Source: Reuters reported by Jeslyn Lerh and edited by Eileen Soreng