Spot fuel oil differentials were largely unchanged on Tuesday, while Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) offered both very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) and high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) for August loading, trade sources said.
The spot differential for Singapore 380-centistoke (cst) HSFO remained at a discount of $6.05 per tonne, while the VLSFO spot differential held steady around a premium of $4.50 per tonne. Overall market activity was thin, but sources indicated KPC had tendered to sell 60,000 tonnes of HSFO for loading Aug. 2-3 and 130,000 tonnes of VLSFO for loading Aug. 14-15, with the tender closing on Tuesday.
According to LSEG data, the VLSFO crack spread settled around a premium of $10 per barrel, while the 380-cst HSFO crack spread was at a discount of nearly $4 per barrel. Ship-tracking data showed total fuel oil arrivals in East Asia exceeding 6 million tonnes as of Tuesday, indicating ample supply in the market.
【Bunker Fuel Data】
Data from the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ) shows that bunker fuel sales at the UAE port of Fujairah fell 5% year-on-year in the first half of 2025. FOIZ data published by S&P Global Commodity Insights shows total bunker sales from January to June this year were 3.7 million cubic meters (approximately 3.6 million metric tons), down from 3.9 million cubic meters in the same period last year. June sales fell 8% month-on-month to 563,000 cubic meters, hitting a four-month low.
【Other News】
– International oil prices fell for a third consecutive day on Tuesday, as market concerns grew that a brewing trade war between the two major oil-consuming blocs, the U.S. and Europe, would dampen fuel demand growth by curbing economic activity.
– A tanker chartered by energy major BP left a port operated by India’s Nayara Energy, which recently faced EU sanctions, without loading any cargo, according to five industry sources and LSEG shipping data, indicating the EU’s new sanctions on Russia are starting to have an impact.
– U.S. gasoline prices this summer could fall below $3 per gallon for the first time in four years, as severe weather suppresses fuel demand and surging imports replenish inventories.
– Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund, Danantara, plans to sign an $8 billion contract with U.S. engineering firm KBR to build 17 modular refineries, according to an official briefing from the country’s economics ministry seen by Reuters and two informed sources.
【Window Trading】
– 180-cst HSFO: No trades
– 380-cst HSFO: No trades
– 0.5% VLSFO: One trade
Source: Reuters
