By Cassandra Yap
       SINGAPORE, May 23 (Reuters) - Singapore's onshore fuel oil
stockpiles plunged to a 5-1/2 year low in the week ended May 22,
despite a rebound in net imports, data showed on Thursday.
    Inventories for fuel oil  lost 17.46% weekly to log
15.778 million barrels (2.48 million metric tons), the lowest since
the week ended Nov 7, 2018, Enterprise Singapore data showed. The
week ended May 22 also marked its steepest decline since the week
ended July 25, 2018, which saw a 17.47% week-on-week decrease.

    Net imports, calculated by subtracting total exports from total
imports, rose 568,326 tons, or 186.1% week-on-week to stand at a
two-week high of 873,675 tons. 
    Total imports more than doubled to about 1,091,367 tons. Top
importers for the week were Brazil, the Netherlands and Kuwait. The
week also saw cargoes originating from Italy, Romania, Turkmenistan
and Sweden for the first time in 2024.
    Total exports dipped 7.4%, with most of the cargoes ending up in
Malaysia and Sri Lanka. 
    The cash differential for 380-cst high sulfur fuel oil
 has embarked on an upward trend since May 20, while
the premium for 0.5% low sulfur fuel oil  rose above
$7 a ton. 
  
 Week to May 22, Fuel oil (in    Total        Total       Net Imports
 metric tons)                    Imports      Exports     
 AZERBAIJAN                            6,080           0        6,080
 BANGLADESH                                0      15,048      -15,048
 BRAZIL                              182,384           0      182,384
 BULGARIA                              4,839           0        4,839
 CHINA                                 3,523           0        3,523
 CONGO                                74,327           0       74,327
 ESTONIA                              48,390           0       48,390
 INDIA                                77,427         350       77,077
 INDONESIA                            97,920           0       97,920
 ITALY                                14,164           0       14,164
 KOREA, REP OF                             1           0            1
 KUWAIT                              141,918           0      141,918
 MALAYSIA                             18,599     170,162     -151,563
 NETHERLANDS                         145,818           0      145,818
 NEW CALEDONIA                             0       5,599       -5,599
 OMAN                                 79,243           0       79,243
 ROMANIA                              13,965           0       13,965
 SRI LANKA                                 0      26,533      -26,533
 SWEDEN                               26,983           0       26,983
 THAILAND                             47,089           0       47,089
 TURKMENISTAN                         38,985           0       38,985
 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES                 57,877           0       57,877
 VIETNAM                              11,835           0       11,835
 TOTAL                             1,091,367     217,692      873,675
 
 (Data from Enterprise Singapore)
    

 (Reporting by Cassandra Yap; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)