Fri 9 Mar 2018, 09:32 GMT

Oil and fuel oil hedging market update


By the Oil Desk at Freight Investor Services.



Commentary

Brent closed down $0.73 last night to $63.61, WTI closed at $60.12, down $1.03. On Tuesday I closed my commentary with "what a strange world we live in..." Low and behold! Kim Jong-Un is getting on a plane to go and meet Trump. This is probably the most important diplomatic meeting for quite some time. I don't know what significance it will have on the oil market - not much from a fundamental point of view, but all the spec boys will, I'm sure, use it as some kind of geopolitical excuse to take a position. Since this time last week Brent is down 0.003%. That's it. I'd be interested to see how volatility charts look - not anything to write home about I imagine. WTI is getting ever closer to that psychological $60 number, however, so I imagine we will see some resistance around these kind of numbers.

Fuel Oil Market (March 8)

The front crack opened at -10.45, strengthening to -10.35, before weakening to -10.55, closing at -10.40. The Cal 19 was valued at -14.80.

Cash differentials of Asia's 380 cSt high sulphur fuel oil extended gains for a fourth straight session on Thursday, lifted slightly higher by buying interest for physical cargoes of the fuel.

Singapore weekly onshore fuel oil inventories slipped 2 percent, or 499,000 barrels (74,000 tonnes), to a two-week low of 22.031 million barrels (about 3.29 million tonnes) in the week ended March 7, data from IE Singapore showed on Thursday.

The lower Singapore fuel oil stocks came amid a 76 percent drop in net imports of the fuel into the city-state from the week before to a seven-week low of 279,000 tonnes, the data showed.

Economic Data and Events

* 1:30pm: U.S. change in non-farm payrolls Feb., est. 205k, prior 200k

* 1:30pm: U.S. unemployment rate Feb., est. 4.0%, prior 4.1%

* 6pm: Baker Hughes rig count

* 6pm: ICE weekly commitments of traders report for Brent, gasoil

* 8:30pm: CFTC weekly commitments of traders report on various U.S. futures and options contracts

Singapore 380 cSt

Apr18 - 349.50 / 351.50

May18 - 349.00 / 351.00

Jun18 - 348.25 / 350.25

Jul18 - 347.25 / 349.25

Aug18 - 345.75 / 347.75

Sep 18 - 344.25 / 346.25

Q2-18 - 349.00 / 351.00

Q3-18 - 345.50 / 347.50

Q4-18 - 339.50 / 342.00

Q1-19 - 331.25 / 333.75

CAL19 - 305.25 / 309.25

CAL20 - 237.00 / 245.00

Singapore 180 cSt

Apr18 - 357.25 / 359.25

May18 - 356.50 / 358.50

Jun18 - 355.75 / 357.75

Jul18 - 354.75 / 356.75

Aug18 - 353.25 / 355.25

Sep 18 - 351.75 / 353.75

Q2-18 - 356.50 / 358.50

Q3-18 - 353.00 / 355.00

Q4-18 - 347.00 / 349.50

Q1-19 - 339.00 / 341.50

CAL19 - 318.50 / 322.50

CAL20 - 249.00 / 257.00

Rotterdam Barges

Apr18 337.00 / 339.00

May18 336.25 / 338.25

Jun18 335.25 / 337.25

Jul18 333.50 / 335.50

Aug18 331.50 / 333.50

Sep 18 - 329.00 / 331.00

Q2-18 336.00 / 338.00

Q3-18 331.00 / 333.00

Q4-18 321.75 / 324.25

Q1-19 314.25 / 316.75

CAL19 284.00 / 288.00

CAL20 224.00 / 232.00


Container ship at harbour. Skuld warns of unusual chemical compounds in Southeast Asian marine fuels  

Marine insurer reports fuels meeting ISO 8217 standards but containing high levels of hydrocarbon compounds.

Arsenio Dominguez, IMO. IMO chief urges progress on net-zero framework amid Hormuz crisis  

Arsenio Dominguez calls for constructive dialogue as MEPC 84 tackles greenhouse gas measures and ballast water regulations.

Monjasa Shaker vessel. Monjasa reflags UAE-based tankers to Emirates registry  

Marine fuels supplier transitions first of three vessels from Liberian to UAE flag.

Ammonia bunkering at Port of Ulsan. Lotte Fine Chemical completes world’s first commercial ammonia bunkering at Ulsan  

South Korean chemical company claims to have established a complete green ammonia value chain.

London skyline. Propeller Fuels seeks bunker trader for London office  

Marine fuel supplier advertises for trader to manage procurement, sales and client relationships.

Windward Hamburg vessel. Fincantieri’s VARD launches first of four offshore wind vessels for Windward Offshore  

VARD 4 19 design vessel features battery hybrid propulsion and green methanol preparation.

Singapore Maritime Week panel session. Singapore industry leaders call for regulatory clarity on maritime energy transition  

SSA councillors highlight need for government support and clear policies to enable alternative fuel adoption.

Aerial view of container vessel at sea. Seaspan and Technolog unveil LNG feeder design with four-week ammonia conversion pathway  

Lloyd’s Register grants approval for a 3,370 TEU vessel concept designed for swift transition to zero-carbon fuel.

David Foo, MPA. Singapore’s MPA backs LNG as part of multi-fuel strategy for shipping decarbonisation  

Authority emphasises regulatory frameworks and workforce development as sector navigates geopolitical uncertainty and energy transition.

ABS and PIL sign MoU. ABS and PIL partner on book-and-claim emissions verification  

Classification society to verify fuel consumption and emissions data for shipping line’s alternative fuel claims.