Singapore oil product inventories rebound to highest in three weeks

SINGAPORE — Oil product inventories in Asia's fuel trading hub of Singapore rebounded to a three-week high, government data showed on Thursday (Aug 27), with stocks building week on week across the barrel.

Combined onshore inventories were at 39.18 million barrels in the week ended August 26, data from Enterprise Singapore showed, up 4.0 per cent compared to a week earlier.

Markets remained watchful on Middle East talks around the Strait of Hormuz which carried oil and LNG shipments equal to about a fifth of global consumption before the US-Israeli war on Iran started.

Residual fuel stocks recover to above 19 million barrels

Residual fuel oil inventories rose for a second consecutive week, standing at a three-week high of 19.24 million barrels (3.03 million tons), up 4.4 per cent week on week.

Expectations of more arrivals of arbitrage supplies have started to pressure spot premiums of fuel oil in recent trading sessions, market sources said.

For now, onshore fuel oil imports softened as some cargoes were still on their way.

Total imports fell 31.8 per cent to about 509,000 tons in the week ended Aug 26, with Bahrain and Belgium emerging as the top suppliers for the week.

Meanwhile, total exports dipped 6.5 per cent from the previous week to about 326,000 tons, with the majority of it heading to New Caledonia.

Middle and light distillate stocks log 2-week high

Middle distillates stockpiles, which comprise both diesel and jet fuel, rebounded to a two-week high of nearly 8.5 million barrels despite a decline in net exports week on week.

Overall imports of both fuels were dismal for the week, totalling less than 24,000 barrels, while net exports rose significantly.

For diesel and gasoil, net exports rose by more than 10 times from a week ago, with imports dipping by almost 100 per cent over the same period.

Only imports from Malaysia were recorded, while exports rose 44 per cent and were mainly to Malaysia and Indonesia.

Swing barrels from regions as India are expected to remain minimal in the coming weeks, according to multiple trade sources, as arbitrage margins to west of Suez markets prove more profitable.

For jet fuel and kerosene, imports declined 100 per cent while exports rose three per cent week on week.

Meanwhile, stocks of light distillates rebounded to above 11.5 million barrels, hitting a two-week high.

Gasoline imports for the week were mainly from China, South Korea and Taiwan, while naphtha imports were from Argentina, Malaysia and China.

As for exports, most outflows of gasoline headed to Indonesia and Malaysia, while naphtha volumes were seen mainly heading to Indonesia in the week.

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