Asia Fuel Oil-Bunker prices at more than 4-1/2 month high; stocks marginally up

Prices of marine fuel oil extended gains for the second straight session to a more than 4-1/2 month high, supported by a strong crude marker.

The 380-cst bunker fuel oil was assessed at $620 a tonne, up $2 a tonne from Wednesday,
Reuters data showed.

As a result of the high flat prices, bunker premiums took a hit, diving 82 cents a tonne to
$1.72 a tonne above 380-cst cargo prices.

Buyers of bunker fuel, such as ship owners, are sensitive to increases in the fuel’s
outright prices and tend to avoid purchasing when crude prices are firm.

To lure demand, sellers resort to cutting premiums to lower flat prices of bunker fuel.

Brent crude held above $114 a barrel on late Thursday, near a nine-month high, supported by
concerns about potential supply disruptions due to fighting in Iraq.

In other market news, Singapore onshore fuel oil stocks edged up by one percent, or 220,000
barrels, to 21.899 million barrels (3.45 million tonnes) in the week to June 18, data from trade
agency IE Singapore showed on Thursday.

Residual exports out of the city-state fell to a three month low, totalling just 190,900
tonnes. China, one of the region’s top fuel oil importers, did not receive any fuel oil from
Singapore.

Singapore’s imports of fuel oil also hit the year’s lowest level of 673,300 tonnes, less
than half of what arrived the week before. Shipments from Saudi Arabia were down by more than 60
percent, while that from Venezuela were down by nearly 80 percent.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Jane Xie; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)