Onshore fuel oil stocks rose 6% to a three-week high of 20.71 million barrels (3.26 million tonnes) in the week ended Feb. 1, Enterprise Singapore data showed.
Weekly net imports climbed 85% to 697,000 tonnes in the same week, as Western and regional Asian supplies picked up into end-January.
The largest net fuel oil imports were from Brazil at 154,000 tonnes, followed by Indonesia at 139,000 tonnes and Kuwait at 127,000 tonnes, displacing Malaysia from the top three positions for the first time this year.
Western arbitrage supplies have been firm in January, though the trend could slow down a little into the second half of February, trade sources said.
Inflows from Indonesia picked up amid regular tender offers, while Kuwait's Al Zour refinery has also been active in offering cargoes since November last year as it ramps up operations.
Meanwhile, top destinations for fuel oil net exports from Singapore were all within Asia. Outflows to China were at 43,000 tonnes, followed by Hong Kong at 38,000 tonnes and South Korea at 29,000 tonnes.
Premiums for 0.5% very low sulphur fuel oil rebounded to six-month highs in recent trading sessions, while premiums for 380-cst high sulphur fuel oil were little changed.
Feb 1, Fuel oil (in tonnes) Total Imports Total Exports Net Imports
ALGERIA 51,235 0 51,235
BANGLADESH 0 19,030 -19,030
BRAZIL 153,844 0 153,844
CHINA 0 42,554 -42,554
GREECE 28,185 0 28,185
HONG KONG 0 38,000 -38,000
INDIA 9,430 0 9,430
INDONESIA 138,514 0 138,514
JAPAN 30,520 0 30,520
KOREA 21,242 49,923 -28,681
KUWAIT 127,009 0 127,009
LIBYA 61,778 0 61,778
MALAYSIA 191,433 102,608 88,825
NEW CALEDONIA 0 7,273 -7,273
RUSSIA 91,023 0 91,023
THAILAND 0 4 -4
UNITED KINGDOM 48,660 0 48,660
UNITED STATES 0 0 0
VIETNAM 10,524 7,345 3,179
TOTAL 963,398 266,737 696,661
(Data from Enterprise Singapore)
(Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
By Jeslyn Lerh
