Cracks for high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) softened for a second consecutive day on Tuesday, with the strength paring back this week.

Singapore 380-cst HSFO/Dubai crack for June dropped to a premium near $2.60 a barrel, while HSFO/Brent crack slipped to around $1.50 a barrel amid sell-offs.

Broader demand remained weak, with spot bunker premiums still under pressure, according to trade sources.

Both ex-wharf and delivered bunker premiums for 380-cst HSFO have fallen below cash differentials for fuel oil, reversing the typical trend where bunker premiums trade higher than cargo premiums.

Spot trade was overall thin on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) also softened, with cash differentials dipping below premiums of $10 per metric ton.

OTHER NEWS

– Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday on increasing expectations that members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, known as OPEC+, will decide to increase their output at a meeting later this week.

– State Oil Company of Azerbaijan, global commodity trader Gunvor and Abu Dhabi-based Bin Butti Group are expected to submit binding offers for Italian oil refiner Italiana Petroli next week, two sources close to the deal said on Tuesday.

– The Iraqi federal government’s oil ministry has sued the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq over oil and gas contracts it signed with U.S. firms, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said and a document showed.

– South Africa has offered to buy liquefied natural gas from the United States over a 10-year period as part of proposals to secure a trade deal, according to a ministerial statement posted on the South African government news agency website.

Source: Reuters