Asia’s fuel oil markets were little changed on Monday, with trade largely thin for key grades, though a stream of bids and offers continued to emerge as with the previous week.

Benchmarks for the very low sulphur fuel oil market held broadly stable. The cash differential was steady near 65 cents a metric ton, while the product’s margin closed at a premium of $7.63 a barrel.

Meanwhile, the market structure for 380-cst high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) firmed in volatile trading, though spot differential hovered near parity to cargo quotes.

The crack for 380-cst HSFO closed at a discount of about $4 a barrel, stable from the previous session.

India’s HPCL offered more fuel oil for October, shipping records showed. The refiner offered 33,000 tons of HSFO for loading between October 24 and 26, via its latest tender, which closes on October 7.

REFINERY UPDATES

– Malaysia’s Pengerang Refining Company (PRefChem) shut both of its residual fluid catalytic cracking (RFCC) units last week, two sources familiar with the matter said, while it continued to offer residual fuel via tender.

OTHER NEWS

– Oil rose more than 1% on Monday after OPEC+’s planned production increase for November was more modest than expected, tempering some concerns about supply additions, though a soft outlook for demand is likely to cap near-term gains.
– Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading oil exporter, has left the official selling price of its flagship Arab Light crude to Asia unchanged, a day after OPEC+ agreed to a modest increase in oil production.
– The Rosneft-controlled Tuapse oil refinery in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region was targeted by Ukrainian drones overnight, causing a fire at a building for security staff, which was quickly put out, regional authorities said on Monday.
– QatarEnergy agreed with Shell to acquire a 27% participating interest in a block offshore Egypt from the oil and gas major, it said in a statement on Sunday.

WINDOW TRADES

– 180-cst HSFO: One trade
– 380-cst HSFO: No trade
– 0.5% VLSFO: No trade
Source: Reuters