Asia's spot fuel oil market remained skewed to the downside as of Friday, while refining cracks logged weekly losses as supply pressure weighed.
Cash differentials for both high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) and very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) closed in discounts at the end of the week.
Cracks traded higher day-on-day, but were softer week-on-week, data compiled by LSEG showed.
Singapore October crack for 380-cst HSFO closed at a discount near $5 a barrel, down about 10% from the previous week. Meanwhile, the VLSFO crack closed at a premium near $8 a barrel, logging a weekly slide of about 13%.
In recent tenders, Nigeria's Dangote offered another cargo of residual fuel for loading in September, according to market sources, on top of two cargoes earlier.
The latest cargo, totalling 130,000 tons, is scheduled for loading on September 18, while the tender closes on Friday, sources said.
A fuel oil trader said that continuous export tenders are expected unless Dangote fixes its gasoline production unit.
INVENTORY DATA
- ARA fuel oil inventories fell 4.4% to 1.00 million tons in the week to September 4, according to data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global.
OTHER NEWS
- Oil extended its decline into a third session on Friday, heading for a weekly loss for the first time in three weeks as expectations grow of higher supply and a surprise increase in U.S. crude inventories added to demand concerns.
- Top Indian refiner Indian Oil Corp skipped the purchase of U.S. oil in its latest tender and instead bought 2 million barrels of West African and a million barrels of Middle Eastern grade, trade sources said on Friday.
- Spot premiums for marine fuel at Fujairah, the world's third-largest bunkering port, held near their highest levels this year, as fuel oil supply tightened after the United Arab Emirates stopped imports of Sudanese oil, trade sources said.
- U.S. imports of biodiesel and renewable diesel slumped to a decade low in the first half of 2025 after a change in tax credits for the fuels went into effect, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said.
Source: Reuters