Singapore onshore oil product stocks at over month high

Singapore's weekly onshore total oil product inventories increased to more than a month high in the week to 25 November, with light distillate and fuel oil stocks rising to two- and five-week highs respectively.

Total oil product inventories climbed to 51.98mn bl in the week to 26 November, the highest level since 21 October, led by the rise in light distillate and fuel oil stocks, according to data from government agency Enterprise Singapore.

Singapore's fuel oil stocks increased to a five-week high, likely led by a rise in fuel oil imports and a fall in exports from the city-state. Singapore imported 7.221mn bl of fuel oil, a 50pc rise from the previous week. Imports were mostly from Australia, Iraq and Malaysia. Imports from Malaysia of 2.225mn bl accounted for 31pc of the total in the week to 25 November, up from 1.379mn bl last week. Imports from the west of Suez also rose this week to 1.988mn bl, up from 1.685mn bl the previous week.

Singapore's fuel oil exports fell this week to 1.889mn bl, a 25pc drop from the previous week. There were no exports to Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia in the week to 25 November. By comparison, the city-state exported 884,076 bl of fuel oil from its onshore tanks to Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia last week.

Singapore's light distillate stocks, comprising mainly gasoline, rose to a two-week high as gasoline imports from key supplier China rose while exports to Australia declined. Chinese imports more than quadrupled from the previous week to 1.702mn bl, while Singapore's gasoline exports to Australia fell by 72pc on the week to 139,122 bl.

Singapore's onshore stocks of middle distillates fell to a three-week low. Singapore exported 1.239mn bl of jet fuel in the latest week, over 6½ times the previous week's level and the highest weekly volume since the 1.24mn bl it shipped in the week to 26 February. The exports included a rare movement of 538,448 bl to Guam and the US. Singapore shipped just 1.39mn bl of jet fuel to these destinations in the whole of 2019 and only 603,700 bl from January-October this year, according to Global Trade Tracker data. Gasoil exports from the city-state fell by 15.9pc to 2.46mn bl in the latest week, but imports rose by 29.7pc to 2.91mn bl.

By Jaslyn Ying