Singapore light distillate stocks hit seven-month low

Singapore light distillate stock levels fell to a seven-month low in the week to 28 May, driven by a sharp drop in import volumes, according to the latest data from Enterprise Singapore.

Naphtha and gasoline imports into Singapore fell by about 60pc on the week to 1.16mn bl and 1.63mn bl respectively. There were no gasoline imports from South Korea in the latest week, compared with 1.51mn bl received from the country a week earlier. The absence of Russian naphtha imports also contributed to the lower stock levels. No cargoes arrived from Russia compared with 785,000 bl a week earlier.

Middle distillate inventories also declined slightly but remained close to the two-month high recorded in the previous week, with both gasoil and jet fuel imports continuing to rise.

Gasoil imports climbed to a seven-week high, supported by stronger flows from South Korea, India, and Taiwan. Indian gasoil shipments into Singapore remained strong, after limited European demand resulted in cargoes staying in the east.

Gasoil exports eased slightly on the week, although cargoes continued to flow to regional destinations including Australia, Indonesia, and Myanmar.

Meanwhile, jet fuel imports rose to a 10-week high, with increased volumes arriving from China and Malaysia. Chinese jet exports are expected to rise further in June, as domestic production continues to exceed demand and diesel margins underperform. On the export front, cargoes primarily headed to Australia and Vietnam.

At the bottom of the barrel, fuel oil inventories edged higher for a second consecutive week, despite an 18pc decline in total imports. Imports from Russia continued for the second straight week, with cumulative volumes over the two-week period reaching about 332,000t. Other supplies for the week mostly originated originated from Australia, Nigeria, and the Republic of Congo, and Kuwait, consisting largely of low-sulphur grades. Exports were solely bound for China and Bangladesh, excluding intra-storage flows between Singapore and Malaysia.

By Aldric Chew, Cara Wong, Asill Bardh