Singapore bunker prices rose on Thursday, while the differential to cargo values stood slightly above parity levels, as the market was nervous about the supply impact following ExxonMobil's refinery outage, traders said.
Prices for 380-centistoke (cst) bunker fuel were pegged at $346-$348 a tonne, up $4, while its differential to fuel oil cargoes stood at slim premium of 5 cents a tonne, compared to minus $2.00 a tonne on Wednesday. "Prices were heard everywhere today, maybe on news of ExxonMobil refinery problems," a Singapore-based bunker trader said.
Cargoes were heard traded as low as $338 a tonne, while some parcels were offered as high as $353 a tonne, traders said. News of ExxonMobil shutting down its 115,000 barrels per day (bpd) crude oil distillation unit (CDU) in Singapore for an indefinite period after a deadly fire early on Thursday, might have added to some stress in the market, some bunker traders said. But a spokeswoman at ExxonMobil said the US refiner would be able to meet customer demand. The refiner is one of Singapore's largest marine fuel oil producer, and supplies to other Asian countries such as Hong Kong.