SINGAPORE: Cash premiums for cargoes of Asia’s 0.5% very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) slipped to a near three-week low on Monday amid absent trade activity.

Despite a persistent shortage of prompt supplies, VLSFO cash differentials have retreated from near two-year highs hit at the start of the month amid slowing year-end demand, trade sources said.

The cash premium slipped to $15.10 per tonne to Singapore quotes on Monday, down 32 cents from Friday and its lowest since Nov. 25.

No VLSFO or high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) cargo trades were reported in the Singapore trading window.

Marine fuel sales in Singapore dipped to a two-month low of 4.22 million tonnes in November, slipping from a six-month high in October, as average loadings at the world’s largest bunkering hub declined, latest official data showed.

The November volumes were down 1% from last year and 1% lower from October, data from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) showed.

Vessel arrivals at the Singapore hub for bunkers climbed to a four-month high of 3,211 in November, down by 4% from the same period last year but up from 3,165 in October, the MPA data showed.

Despite the higher bunkering traffic, the vessels each on average loaded 1,315 tonnes in November, down from a four-year high of 1,344 tonnes in October, Reuters calculations showed.

Overall floating storage inventories for residual fuel in the Malacca Strait rose in the week ended Dec. 8, rebounding from its lowest levels in over a year in the previous week, according to data intelligence firm Kpler.

Total floating storage inventories rose by 272,000 tonnes, or 12%, from the previous week to a one-month high of 2.55 million tonnes.

Floating VLSFO inventories rose to 1.61 million tonnes in the week to Dec. 8, up by 10%, or 146,000 tonnes, from the previous week. Floating stocks of residual fuels with unspecified sulphur content jumped 21%, or 109,000 tonnes, to 622,000 tonnes, while stocks of HSFO rose by 17,000 tonnes, or 6%, to 325,000 tonnes.