Rotterdam 0.5%S marine fuel FOB barges finished the week to be assessed at $462/mt on April 23, down from $472/mt in the previous week, reports Platts
Marine fuel 0.5%S
The premium for delivered 0.5%S marine fuel over barges at Rotterdam was relatively stable from the previous week at $12/mt on April 23.
Stocks of fuel oil in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp region fell 13% at 1.512 million mt in the week to April 22, following gains of 15% in the week prior and dropping to the lowest levels in two months, according to data from Insights Global.
Market participants recently noted ample supply of fuel oil product in the European region, with demand particularly in the West Mediterranean region cited as poor. Fundamentals were not helped as Singapore was well-supplied, limiting arbitrage opportunities.
Bunkering activity in the ARA hub was at average levels in the week to April 23 while supply across all grades was also satisfactory, market participants said.
High sulfur fuel oil
Rotterdam 3.5%S fuel oil barges on an FOB basis finished the week to be assessed at $362.75/mt on April 23, down from $370/mt the previous week.
Traders were looking forward to seasonal demand from utility companies in Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states that draw a lot of power for air conditioning during the hot summer months.
Reflecting pressure on both 0.5%S marine fuel differentials and 3.5%S fuel oil, the Hi-5 bunkers spread — the differential between 3.5%S fuel oil and 0.5%S marine fuel — was stable on the week in the week to April 23 at $99/mt at Rotterdam, compared with $100/mt in the week prior. The Capesize scrubber premium dropped to $3,180/d from $3,422/d during the same period.
Feedstocks
Participants generally described the high sulfur vacuum gasoil. or HSVGO, market as muted. “Distillate demand has come off so there will be no one screaming for HSVGO. The US should be pulling in lower sulfur [VGO] though,” a market participant said.
LSVGO is typically ran through fluid catalytic cracking units that produce a higher proportion of gasoline than HSVGO, which is usually processed through distillate hydrocrackers.
The relative strength of the gasoline crack coupled with the seasonal and postlockdown increase in driving activity in the US has made gasoline, and therefore LSVGO, more valuable to refiners.
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Source: Platts
