SINGAPORE: Asia’s cash differentials for 380-cst high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) climbed for a seventh straight session on Thursday to their highest in nearly six months, riding on firmer feedstock demand from refiners.
Cash premiums for 380-cst HSFO jumped to $10.98 per tonne to Singapore quotes, a level not seen since Sept. 27. They were at a premium of $9.21 per tonne on Wednesday.
The cash differentials for 180-cst HSFO, which have more than doubled in the last week, were at $12.16 per tonne to Singapore quotes, up from $10.25 per tonne a day earlier.
Meanwhile, cash premiums for Asia’s 0.5% VLSFO slipped for a third straight session to $22.61 a tonne to Singapore quotes, compared with $24.44 per barrel in the previous session.
The front-month VLSFO crack dropped to $24.38 per barrel against Dubai crude during Asian trading hours, down 41 cents from Wednesday.
Singapore’s onshore fuel oil stocks dropped 4.1% to a three-week low of 22.4 million barrels, or 3.3 million tonnes, in the week to March 23, according to the Enterprise Singapore data.
Weekly fuel oil inventories have averaged 22.5 million barrels so far this year, in line with the weekly average in 2021, Reuters calculations showed. Onshore fuel oil inventories were 0.4% higher compared with year-ago levels.
Asian importers of Russian gas were scrambling on Thursday after Russian President Vladimir Putin said “unfriendly” countries must pay for Russian gas in roubles, in the latest jolt to global energy markets after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Japan, South Korea and Taiwan were on the list of countries deemed unfriendly. They all import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Sakhalin-2 and Yamal LNG projects in eastern Russia. Japan, the biggest importer of Russian LNG in Asia, had no idea how Russia would enforce that requirement.
One 380-cst high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) deal, no 180-cst HSFO trades. Three VLSFO trades were reported.
Indian private refiner Nayara Energy, part-owned by Russia’s Rosneft, has purchased Russian oil after a gap of a year, buying about 1.8 million barrels of Urals from trader Trafigura, two trade sources said and Refinitiv data shows.
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