PHOTO
Image used for illustrative purpose. A view of Tullow Oil's newly completed Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO) Prof. John Evans Atta Mills at Sembcorp Marine's Jurong Shipyard in Singapore January 20, 2016. Image used for illustrative purpose. Edgar Su/File Photo, Reuters
SINGAPORE - Onshore fuel oil stockpiles at key trading hub Singapore recovered to their highest in four weeks despite lower imports being recorded, data showed on Thursday. Residual fuel inventories were at 22.34 million barrels (about 3.52 million metric tons) in the week to May 28, up 3.9% week-on-week, Enterprise Singapore data showed. Bunker demand has been largely tepid, according to several trade sources, which limited inventory drawdowns.
Fuel oil imports into onshore tanks fell 18% from the previous week to 686,000 tons, with most imports hailing from Russia. Meanwhile, total fuel oil exports rose 7% to more than 331,000 tons.
Most volumes were headed for China, excluding regional storage hub Malaysia. Asia remains amply supplied this month, with arrivals in May totalling about 5.5 million tons and climbing from April, according to LSEG Oil Research. Singapore spot differentials for low-sulphur fuel oil have softened this week, while high-sulphur fuel oil differentials recovered slightly.
Week to May. 28, Fuel oil (in Total Total Net metric tons) Imports Exports Imports AUSTRALIA 82,716 0 82,716 BANGLADESH 0 20,053 -20,053 CHINA 0 69,048 -69,048 CONGO 73,832 0 73,832 INDIA 0 180 -180 INDONESIA 30,417 0 30,417 KOREA 55 0 55 KUWAIT 55,411 0 55,411 MALAYSIA 109,379 242,101 -132,721 NEPAL 0 19 -19 NETHERLANDS 2,088 0 2,088 NIGERIA 78,921 0 78,921 RUSSIA 238,714 0 238,714 VIETNAM 14,911 0 14,911 TOTAL 686,443 331,402 355,042
