Asia fuel oil markets were mixed on Tuesday, with high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) weakening into deeper discounts, while very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) premiums held steady to firmer.

The market structure for HSFO traded into a steeper contango on Tuesday versus the previous session. Sentiment remained clouded by uncertainty around the recovery in Middle Eastern trade flows.

Reports of attacks on vessels near the Strait of Hormuz have re-emerged, reviving concerns of disruptions to shipping through the critical energy transit route.

Cracks for fuel oil though were largely unaffected. VLSFO's crack (LFO05SGBRTCMc1) inched slightly upwards to a premium of $12.41 a barrel, LSEG data showed, while 380-cst HSFO's crack (FO380BRTCKMc1) slipped to a discount of $7.30 a barrel.

Spot trading was thin on Tuesday, though VLSFO firmed slightly as bids recovered in early August.

OTHER NEWS

- Oil rose on Tuesday as traders' nervousness about a lack of progress on peace talks between the United States and Iran offset any price impact of a slight recovery in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

- A Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker was damaged near the Strait of Hormuz close to the coast of Oman after a Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker was struck in the same area, maritime security sources said on Tuesday.

- The United Arab Emirates raised its crude output to near record highs above 3.8 million barrels per day in June after it quit OPEC to escape production caps, two sources familiar with production data said.

- Namibia's energy minister has lifted a ban on Nasan Energies securing fuel from commodities trader Vitol imposed by competition authorities as a condition of approving a deal between the companies, a government gazette showed.

WINDOW TRADES

- 180-cst HSFO: No trade.

- 380-cst HSFO: No trade.

- 0.5% VLSFO: No trade.

ASSESSMENTS

FUEL OIL

CASH ($/T)

ASIA CLOSE

CHANGE

PREV CLOSE

RIC

Cargo - 180cst

416.94

-7.47

424.42

(FO180-SIN)

Diff - 180cst

-6.00

-3.94

-2.06

(FO180-SIN-DIF)

Cargo - 380cst

410.23

-1.00

411.23

(FO380-SIN)

Diff - 380cst

-3.00

-1.06

-1.94

(FO380-SIN-DIF)

Cargo - 0.5% VLSFO

562.10

7.51

554.58

(MFO05-SIN)

Diff - 0.5% VLSFO

12.40

-1.71

14.11

(MFO05-SIN-DIF)

For a list of derivatives prices, please refer to ENSWAP/INFO or the RICs below:

180cst M1

(FO180SGSWMc1)

180cst M1/M2

(FO180SGSDMc1)

380cst M1

(FO380SGSWMc1)

380cst M1/M2

(FO380SGSDMc1)

0.5% VLSFO M1

(LFO05FSGMc1)

0.5% VLSFO M1/M2

(LFO05FSGSMc1)

Cracks 180cst-Brent M1

(FO180BRTCKMc1)

Cracks 180cst-Dubai M1

(FO180SGCKMc1)

Cracks 380cst-Brent M1

(FO380BRTCKMc1)

Cracks 380cst-Dubai M1

(FO380DUBCKMc1)

Cracks 0.5% VLSFO-Brent M1

(LFO05SGBRTCMc1)

Cracks 0.5% VLSFO-Dubai M1

(LFO05SGDUBCMc1)

Visco 180cst/380cst M1

(FOVISSGDFMc1)

Hi-5 0.5% VLSFO/380cst M1

(FO05-380SGMc1)

GoFo 10PPM/0.5% VLSFO M1

(GO10FO05FSGMc1)

East-West M1

(FOSGEWMc1)

Barges M1

(HFOFARAAMc1)

Barges M1/M2

(HFOFARAASMc1)

Crack Barges-Brent M1

(HFOFARAACMc1)