Singapore bunker or ship fuel prices ticked up on Monday on support from active buying interest, but dealers said they expected few trades as ship owners were simply testing an amply supplied market.
Traders pegged 380-centistoke (cst) bunker fuel oil at $183 a tonne, up $1 from Friday, with lighter 180-cst pegged $6 a tonne higher than 380-cst prices.
"Not much is going to get sold today. There are at least 50,000 tonnes sought in the market, but most are just test bids to see if they can get away with bringing prices down," said a trader at a western oil major.
Bunker fuel oil prices remained under pressure from ample supply, which remained 42 percent above year-ago levels after a mere 1.4 percent draw of 167,000 barrels last week to 12.103 million barrels.
Marine gas oil was offered at $320 a tonne, mostly flat from Friday, said traders, who noted that a jump in benchmark gas oil cargo prices to nearly the same level would not be felt in the bunker market until Tuesday.
"The cargo prices are way up on the strength in European gas oil, but we won't feel that heat for at least a day or two in Asian bunkers," the Singapore-based trader said.
On the International Petroleum Exchange in London, gas oil futures for July were last quoted up $6.25 at $345 a tonne.
NYMEX oil futures trade was closed for day session trade in New York on Monday, the US Independence Day holiday, and will resume at 1900 EDT (2300 GMT).
On Friday, in a shortened trading session, NYMEX US light crude for August delivery settled 35 cents lower at $38.39 a barrel, down from its sharp rise of $1.69 on Thursday.
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