Singapore, a key fuel-trading hub in Asia, held 38.134 million barrels of oil products in onshore storage for the week ended Oct. 21, the lowest total in three weeks, Enterprise Singapore data showed.
Light-distillate inventories, including naphtha and petrol, stood at 10.971 million barrels, also a three-week low. Diesel and jet-fuel stocks dropped 20% from the prior week to 8.31 million barrels, their weakest level in four weeks. A week earlier, those stocks had been near a six-month high.
Enterprise Singapore trade data showed naphtha imports at about 122,000 metric tons, equivalent to roughly 1.09 million barrels, down 29% from the previous week. No cargoes arrived from the Middle East or India; Russia supplied 74,000 tons and Malaysia 44,000 tons. Singapore recorded no naphtha exports. Petrol imports fell about 61% to 125,000 tons, or roughly 1.06 million barrels, while exports rose about 49% to 724,000 tons. China supplied nearly 77,000 tons of petrol. Malaysia and Indonesia were the leading export destinations, receiving about 180,000 and 166,000 tons, respectively.
Residual fuel moved higher: inventories increased 4.5% to 18.86 million barrels, or 2.97 million tons, after six weeks of declines. The level remained below September’s weekly average of 19.89 million barrels. Enterprise Singapore data also showed fuel oil imports into onshore tanks up 74.9% to more than 965,000 tons. The United Arab Emirates was the top supplier, followed by Thailand and Brazil. Exports exceeded 440,000 tons, more than triple the previous week’s total, with most cargoes bound for China.
Traders told Reuters they expect north-east Asian diesel exports, particularly from South Korea, to remain firm into November amid steady spot sales. LSEG shipping data indicated East Asia had ample supplies in October, with higher volumes from most major exporting regions. Trade sources told Reuters that high freight costs could constrain arbitrage flows in the coming months.
