Asia Fuel Oil-Spot premiums dip; Kuwait sells VLSFO for July

Spot fuel oil premiums eased in Asia on Wednesday with more tenders underway, while Kuwait’s Al Zour refinery also awarded its latest sales tender for July.
The cargo of very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) was sold to BB Energy at a discount of $8-$9 per metric ton to VLSFO cargo quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) Kuwait basis, market sources said. The refiner had offered 130,000 tons of the product for loading July 21 and 22, in a tender that closed on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, more tenders were underway in the spot market, according to sources.
India’s HPCL had offered 30,000 tons of 380-cst high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) for loading between July 15 and 26, while Sri Lanka’s LIOC sought 25,000 tons of VLSFO for delivery between Aug. 8 and 11.
Broader supplies remained ample and this has capped fuel oil benchmarks from recovering. Cash premiums for both 380-cst HSFO and 0.5% VLSFO edged below $5 per ton on Wednesday.
INVENTORY DATA
– Fujairah heavy fuel inventories rose 7.8% to 9.42 million barrels (1.48 million tons) in the week to July 8, rebounding to a four-week high, showed FOIZ data published by S&P Global Commodity Insights.
OTHER NEWS
– Oil prices rose on Wednesday on expectations that U.S. crude and gasoline inventories fell last week, but further gains were limited by the restart of output in the U.S. Gulf as the threat from Hurricane Beryl faded.
– Oil and gas companies in Texas restarted some operations on Tuesday after Hurricane Beryl lashed the state with 80-mph (129-kph) winds, while some facilities sustained damage and power had not been fully restored.
– Saudi Arabia raised a total of $12.35 billion from selling more shares in Aramco, after increasing the offering in the world’s most valuable oil company, a document seen by Reuters showed.
– Russian natural gas giant Novatek’s new China marketing arm is looking to sell a shipment of Arctic liquefied natural gas as it attempts to penetrate the vast Chinese domestic gas market, traders with knowledge of the matter said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Eileen Soreng)