SINGAPORE: Asia’s front-month crack for 0.5% very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) rose on Monday to its highest in over two years, while cash premiums for the marine fuel grade jumped on firmer buying interests in the physical market.

The front-month VLSFO crack climbed to $29.61 per barrel against Dubai crude during Asian trading hours, its highest since January 2020. It was at $27.50 per barrel on Friday.

Cash premiums for Asia’s 0.5% VLSFO rose to $19.67 a tonne to Singapore quotes, compared with $16.88 per tonne on Friday, while the March/April VLSFO time spread widened its backwardation by $3 to trade at $33.75 a tonne on Monday.

Asia’s cash premiums for 380-cst high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) were at $5.07 per tonne to Singapore quotes on Monday, the highest since October last year. They were at a premium of $3.34 per tonne at the end of last week.

China’s crude oil imports for the first two months of 2022 fell nearly 5% from a year earlier, data showed on Monday, as independent refiners, also known as teapots, curbed production because of narrowing margins and government curbs.

Imports during the January-February period totalled 85.14 million tonnes, or about 10.53 million barrels per day, lower than the 11.08 million bpd in the same period a year earlier, the General Administration of Customs said on Monday, without giving a breakdown for the individual months.

One 380-cst high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) deal, no 180-cst HSFO trades. No VLSFO trade were reported.

Oil prices spiked to their highest levels since 2008 on Monday as the United States and European allies weighed a Russian oil import ban and delays in the potential return of Iranian crude to global markets fuelled supply fears.