Asia Fuel Oil-Cash premiums recover on leaner supply outlook

Cash premium for the 380-cst fuel oil rose marginally on Thursday as a leaner supply outlook for the coming month outweighed weaker demand in recent days.

The 380-cst cash premium was at $1 a tonne to Singapore spot quotes, up 19 cents a tonne, Reuters data showed.

While the general pool of supply is lower for the coming month, mainly due to lower volumes
from the West, traders said there were still oil available, thus capping any spikes in premiums.

Trading house Gunvor offered a cargo loading over June 24-28 at $601 a tonne during cash
trading, or at premiums equivalent to $1.99-2.30 a tonne to Singapore spot quotes, Reuters calculation showed.

Comparatively, other offers were at least $1 a tonne higher.

“Actual market demand is not that great, not much changes or improvement (past few weeks),” said a Singapore-based trader.

In other market news, Singapore onshore fuel oil stocks spiked 2.615 million barrels to a near nine-month high for the week ended May 28, data from trade agency IE Singapore showed on
Thursday.

Imports from Venezuela made up 45 percent of total shipments into the city-state, while exports to China slipped about 14 percent to just 38,000 tonnes over May 22-26.

Shipments to South Korea, meanwhile, hit a five-week high of 89,200 tonnes over the same
week.

*CASH TRADES – No trades.

*TENDER NEWS
Indian Oil Corp sold 25,000 tonnes of 180-cst for loading over June 12-14 from JNPT, Mumbai at a discount of around $15 a tonne to the IOC formula.

*MARKET NEWS
Japan’s top oil refiner, JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp, said it would refine 862,000 barrels per day (4.11 million kilolitres) of crude oil in June for domestic consumption, down 18 percent
from a year earlier, marking a record low for the month, as it undertakes heavy maintenance of its refineries, a company spokesman said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Jane Xie; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)