Fujairah data: Oil product stocks hit 5-week high as middle distillates jump 27%

Dubai — Oil product stocks in the Middle Eastern hub of Fujairah climbed to a five-week high Monday, led by a surge in jet fuel and other middle distillate stocks, data released Wednesday by the Fujairah Oil Inventory Zone showed.

Total stocks rose 1.2% week on week to 21.561 million barrels, the highest since December 23, with middle distillate stocks surging 27% over the same period to 4 million barrels, data compiled by S&P Global Platts showed. Light distillates rose 12% on week to 7.111 million barrels, a five-month high.

The Lunar New Year period, which began Saturday, typically marks a business slowdown and that combined with the coronavirus outbreak may accelerate the slowdown in the shipping of liquid products like oil, leading to a build in oil product inventories, according to Apurva Mali, sales manager at Masc Co DMCC, a Dubai-based broker in bunker fuels.

The premium for Fujairah-delivered 0.5% sulfur marine fuel oil over benchmark Singapore slumped to $57.43/mt last week from a record high of $126.32/mt on January 6 as supply in Fujairah flipped from tight to surplus, Platts reported last week, citing UAE-based traders. At the start of this week, 0.5% sulfur marine fuel in both Fujairah and Singapore was assessed at $575/mt.

With Fujairah-delivered 0.5% sulfur marine fuel oil becoming more price competitive, stocks of heavy distillates and residues fell 11% on the week to 10.45 million barrels Monday, after rising 15% the week before. Heavy distillates includes high and low sulfur marine bunkers and fuel used for power generation.

Platts holds exclusive rights to publish Fujairah oil inventory data, and has deployed a blockchain network for its collation. According to FOIZ, 11 terminals are participating in the weekly stock reporting, including storage volumes involved in activities such as blending and refining.