Singapore ex-wharf 380 CST bunker fuel term contracts for July have been mostly concluded at a premium of $4-$4.50/mt to the Mean of Platts Singapore 380 CST high sulfur fuel oil assessments, trade sources said Friday.

This compares with a premium of $2.50-$3.50/mt to MOPS 380 CST HSFO assessments for June contracts.

Stocks were tight mainly due to only 3 million-4 million mt of imported fuel oil cargoes expected in July, compared with 4.5 million-5 million mt in June.

“The HSFO cash premium is $2/mt, and is expected to be supported now till the first half of July,” a trader said, adding that Singapore bunker sales continued to be steady around 4 million mt/month.

The daily spot cash differential for 380 CST HSFO averaged plus $2.12/mt this week and plus $1.6/mt over the past 16 trading days in June, compared with the average of $1.57/mt for the whole of May, S&P Global Platts data showed.

Meanwhile, the average daily spot 380 CST ex-wharf bunker fuel differential to MOPS 380 CST HSFO over the same period in June is $4.32/mt, compared with an average of $3.90/mt for the whole of May, the data showed, indicating continued demand for Singapore bunker fuel.

The spot ex-wharf 380 CST bunker differential to MOPS 380 CST HSFO assessments tracked the rise in cash differentials for 380 CST cargoes since the end of March.

Premiums or discounts for physical bunker fuel reflect the prices buyers are willing to pay relative to published benchmark values.

Cash differentials for physical fuel oil represent the price buyers are willing to pay over and above the benchmark values published around the day a cargo loads.

Source: Platts