Asia Fuel Oil-Refining margins post monthly declines

Asia’s refining margins for fuel oil posted monthly declines in August, Refinitv data showed Thursday.

September crack for 380-cst high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) fell by more than 8% through August, closing at a discount of $7.09 a barrel by 0830 GMT.
Meanwhile, the crack for 0.5% very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) slipped by nearly 1% this month, closing at a premium of $9.21 a barrel on Thursday.

The HSFO market had softened after a short-lived rally, while VLSFO weakened due to an ample supply outlook.

Singapore’s 380-cst HSFO cash differential was pegged at a premium of $9.75 a metric ton on Thursday, while cash differential for 0.5% VLSFO fell to a premium of $4.75 a ton.

SINGAPORE INVENTORIES O/SING1

Onshore fuel oil stocks at Singapore eased 10% to 19.92 million barrels (3.14 million metric tons), hitting six-week lows, data from Enterprise Singapore showed.

Weekly net imports, calculated by subtracting total exports from total imports, dipped 7% at 551,000 metric tons.

Brazil was the top origin for Singapore’s fuel oil net imports at 131,000 tons, more than doubling from last week.

This was followed by the United Arab Emirates, with net imports at 103,000 tons, though the volume declined from the previous week.

OTHER NEWS

-Oil prices were steady on Thursday as investors cautiously awaited a U.S. personal consumption expenditure report later in the day for clues on the interest rate outlook.

– China’s Sinopec Corp is setting up a new entity to invest in refinery and petrochemical assets overseas, in a bid to leverage its expertise and deep pockets to expand globally as local Chinese oil demand nears a plateau.

– Colombia’s majority state-owned oil company Ecopetrol will invest between $1.2 billion and $1.3 billion over the next seven years in cleaner and better fuels, the company’s Chief Executive Ricardo Roa said.

– Kinder Morgan on Wednesday said its Port Manatee, Port Sutton and Tampaplex terminals in Florida sustained minimal damage due to Hurricane Idalia, and that it was also planning to shut its Charleston area terminals later in the day.

WINDOW TRADES O/AS

– 180-cst HSFO: No trade
– 380-cst HSFO: No trade
– 0.5% VLSFO: No trade
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Shweta Agarwal)