Singapore's onshore residual fuel oil inventories increased for a third straight week, edging up toward a one-month high, official statistics published by Enterprise Singapore show.
For the week that ended May 20, residual fuel stockpiles expanded by 7.1 percent to 21.50 million barrels, equivalent to about 3.39 million metric tons. The report attributes part of the inventory build to higher inbound volumes.
Imports into Singapore rose 4.5 percent from the previous week, reaching approximately 983,000 tons. The data identify Brazil and the United States as the primary origins for those cargoes during the reporting period.
At the same time, exports from Singapore climbed 20.1 percent to roughly 495,000 tons. The main destinations listed for outward shipments were Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Market commentary included with the figures noted that prompt fuel oil markets in Asia have shown signs of weakening in recent sessions. The weakening is linked in the report to subdued spot demand fundamentals even as arbitrage inflows have remained largely firm, a combination that has coincided with the weekly build in inventories.
From a flows perspective, the simultaneous increase in both imports and exports suggests active physical trade across regional routes, while the larger percentage rise in exports indicates a pickup in shipments out of Singapore relative to the prior week. Nevertheless, the net effect recorded by Enterprise Singapore was an overall inventory increase that pushed stockpiles closer to levels observed about a month earlier.
The weekly data provide a snapshot of short-term supply and demand movements in a major storage and trading hub. Traders, refiners and shipping operators monitoring prompt market conditions and arbitrage flows will likely view the combination of higher inventories and softer spot demand as relevant to near-term pricing and routing decisions.
Source: Enterprise Singapore weekly onshore fuel oil inventory data for the week ending May 20.