SINGAPORE, April 21 (Reuters) - The cash differential for the 380-cst fuel oil rebounded on Monday, narrowing to a one-week high on hopes that the market has bottomed out, traders said. The 380-cst cash differential stood at minus $2.50 a tonne to Singapore spot quotes, versus minus $3.06 a tonne last Thursday. "The market seems to be at the bottom level now," said a North Asia-based fuel oil trader. Despite signs of improvement, the overall outlook was still soft, traders said, with requirements from Singapore and China still thin. "The fuel oil market is still quite bearish - low demand in Singapore and in the Far East. China's spot demand is apparently also quite low," said a Singapore-based fuel oil trader. Besides Singapore, the world's largest bunkering hub, China is another key fuel oil export destination in Asia, where heavy distillate is used as a feedstock in refineries, power stations and vessels. Fuel oil exports from India were sold at lower premiums, reflecting a weakening market. Indian Oil Corp (IOC) sold 22,000-24,000 tonnes of 180-cst for loading over May 3-5 from Mumbai at a discount of about $18 a tonne to the IOC formula, 12 percent higher than its last sale of a similar cargo to BP at a discount of $16 a tonne. Singapore's onshore fuel oil stocks fell 10 percent in the week to April 16 to 19.842 million barrels (3.12 million tonnes), data from trade agency IE Singapore showed on Monday. The decline in shipments into the oil trading hub outpaced the rise in exports from Singapore. Imports were down 29 percent at 1.14 million tonnes, while exports were up 10 percent at 619,000 tonnes. There was no cash trading on Friday due to a public holiday in Singapore. *CASH DEALS BP sold to SK Energy 20,000 tonnes of 180-cst for May 11-15 at a discount of $3 a tonne to Singapore spot quotes over the first half of May. BP sold to Mercuria 20,000 tonnes of 180-cst for May 17-21 at a discount of $3 a tonne to Singapore spot quotes. *TENDER NEWS Korea Western Power Co Ltd (WP) is seeking 45,000 tonnes of high sulphur fuel oil for May 21-25 arrival to Pyeongtaek via a tender that will close on April 25, the utility said on its website.ID:nL3N0NA0TL FUEL OIL CASH ($/T) ASIA CLOSE Change % Change Prev RIC Close Cargo - 180cst 596.27 0.89 0.15 595.38FO180-SIN Diff - 180cst -2.85 0.05 -1.72 -2.90FO180-SIN-DIF Cargo - 380cst 586.96 1.74 0.30 585.22FO380-SIN Diff - 380cst -2.50 0.56 -18.30 -3.06FO380-SIN-DIF Bunker (Ex-wharf)- 588.00 1.00 0.17 587.00BK380-B-SIN 380cst Bunker (Ex-wharf) 1.04 -0.74 -41.57 1.78 Premium For a list of derivatives prices, including margins, please double click the RICs below. Brent M1BRENTSGMc1 180cst M1FO180SGSWMc1 180cst M1/M2FO180SGSDMc1 180cst M2FO180SGSWMc2 Visco M1FOVISSGDFMc1 Visco M2FOVISSGDFMc2 380cst M1FO380SGSWMc1 380cst M1/M2FO380SGSDMc1 380cst M2FO380SGSWMc2 Cracks 180-DubaiFO180SGCKMc1 M1 Cracks 180-DubaiFO180SGCKMc2 M2 East-West M1FOSGEWMc1 East-West M2FOSGEWMc2 Barges M1HFOFARAAMc1 Barges M1/M2HFOFARAASMc1 Barges M2HFOFARAAMc2 Crack Barges-BrentHFOFARAACMc1 M1 Crack Barges-BrentHFOFARAACMc2 M2 (Reporting by Jane Xie; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) ((jane.xie@thomsonreuters.com)(+65 6870 3495)(Reuters Messaging: jane.xie.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: MARKETS ASIA/FUELOIL
Asia Fuel Oil-380-cst cash differential narrows to 1-week high
April 21, 2014
