Singapore fuel oil inventories pile higher for fourth straight week

Onshore fuel oil stockpiles at key trading and storage hub Singapore built for a fourth straight week, official data showed on Thursday.

Inventories rose 19% to 22.81 million barrels (3.59 million metric tons) in the week ended June 19, reaching a 17-week high, Enterprise Singapore data showed.

Bunkering demand has been tepid in the week, while at the same, broader supplies to Asia recovered, market sources said.

On the exports front, top destinations for fuel oil outflows from Singapore’s onshore tanks included China, Philippines and Bangladesh in the week ended June 19.
Meanwhile, most of the inflows into onshore tanks hailed from Russia and the United States in the same week, excluding cargo movements between Singapore and Malaysia.

Amid higher inventories, spot premiums for the low-sulphur market remained trapped between $1 to $2 a ton over Singapore quotes in recent weeks. High-sulphur 380-cst premiums were also steady week-on-week at $11 to $12 a ton.

Bunkering demand slowed in a holiday-thinned week, while some shipowners also monitored the recent oil spill situation, said market sources.
Singapore premiums of delivered bunker fuel held at about $10 a ton for the flagship 0.5% low-sulphur fuel grade, little changed through the month, based on data from sources.

Meanwhile, incoming fuel oil supplies to Asia in June climbed closer to May volumes, which were slightly above 5 million tons.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Rashmi Aich)