SINGAPORE: Spot cash differentials in Asia’s fuel oil market dipped on Thursday amid competitive offers, while landed inventories at Singapore rose slightly from the previous week.

The 0.5% VLSFO cash differential eased to a premium of $8.98 a tonne to Singapore quotes, while the 380-cst HSFO cash differential dipped to a premium of 96 cents a tonne.

Meanwhile, the 180-cst cash differential remained in discounts to Singapore quotes since the start of this year.

Singapore saw an increase in weekly fuel oil net imports for the third straight week amid steady supplies flowing to Asia.

Onshore fuel oil stocks rose by 2% to 21.33 million barrels (3.36 million tonnes) in the week ended Jan. 4, Enterprise Singapore data showed.

The slight up-tick came amid a gain in weekly net imports, which increased by 3% to 658,000 tonnes. Oil prices rebounded on Thursday amid dollar weakness and as investors emerged to buy dips after two sessions of steep losses, though economic concerns capped recovery.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) said on Thursday it would allocate $15 billion to decarbonisation projects by 2030.

China’s liquefied natural gas demand is forecast to recover in 2023 as the country emerges from COVID-19 controls to become the bright spot in Asia’s consumption for the super-chilled fuel.