Fujairah data: Bunkers, other heavy fuels inventories drop to 4-month low

Inventories of marine bunkers and other heavy distillates at the port of Fujairah in the UAE dropped to a four-month low at the start of this week amid reports of increasing demand, data released Wednesday by the Fujairah Oil Inventory Zone showed.

Heavy distillates, which includes fuels for power generation, stood at 8.6 million barrels as of Monday, the lowest since March 4 and down 13% from a week earlier, the data showed.

Bunker demand at the port to date in July is relatively better than in June because of lower prices than at other refueling destinations, S&P Global Platts reported last week. Fujairah-delivered 380 CST bunker fuel was assessed at $433/mt Monday, compared with $466/mt in Singapore and $510/mt in Mumbai.

“Lower prices than other major ports like Singapore have brought some owners back this month,” a Fujairah-based bunker supplier told Platts. Peak summer air conditioning usage may also be increasing demand from the power sector, according to Alex Yap, senior analyst at Platts in Singapore.

Stockpiles of light distillates, including gasoline, rose 11% week on week to 8.158 million barrels, the third consecutive weekly gain, and middle distillates, such as jet fuel and gasoil, climbed 6.4% over the same period to 2.314 million barrels, the highest since May 27. Demand for gasoil in China and India has remained lackluster, according to a Platts report.

Total stockpiles dropped 1.5% week on week to 19.072 million barrels as of Monday after rising the week before for the first time in six weeks.

All commercial terminal operators in Fujairah participate in the weekly stock reporting at the request of FOIZ, the Middle East’s largest commercial storage facility for refined products. A total of 11 terminals participate, including storage volumes involved in activities such as blending and refining. Platts is the official publisher of the data .
Source: Platts