SINGAPORE: Asia’s cash premiums for 0.5% very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) rose on Wednesday, buoyed by steady demand and tighter supplies.

Cash premiums for Asia’s 0.5% VLSFO climbed to $19.10 a tonne to Singapore quotes, up from $16.15 per tonne on Tuesday.

The front-month VLSFO crack dipped 2 cents to $14.99 per barrel against Dubai crude during Asian trading hours.

Meanwhile, the 380-cst HSFO barge crack for January traded at a discount of $11.09 a barrel to Brent on Wednesday, compared with minus $10.97 a barrel on Tuesday.

Cash premiums for 380-cst high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) fell to $1.29 cents per tonne to Singapore quotes, down from $1.35 per tonne in the previous session.

Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ) inventories for heavy distillates and residues rose 1.2% or 106,000 barrels (about 15,800 tonnes), from the previous week to 8.9 million barrels (1.3 million tonnes), data via S&P Global Platts showed.

Compared with year-ago levels, the weekly fuel oil inventories at FOIZ were about 20% lower.

Fuel oil stocks at FOIZ have averaged 10.3 million barrels so far this year, compared with a weekly average of 12.9 million barrels in 2020, Reuters calculations showed. One 380-cst HSFO trade, no VLSFO deals.