Singapore's middle distillates inventories cross 10 MMbbl
(Reuters) - Singapore's middle distillates inventories surged more than 1MMbbl week on week to more than a three-month high level despite gains in net exports for both jet fuel, kerosene, diesel and gasoil.
Stockpiles of gasoil/diesel and jet fuel/kerosene at key oil storage hub Singapore were at 10.175 million barrels for the week ended Feb. 28, up from 8.845 million barrels last week, the data from Enterprise Singapore showed. O/SING1
Net exports of diesel/gasoil climbed by around 20% week on week, a reflection of the decline in total imports for the week.
Total imports fell by around 39% from a week ago, with volumes from China and South Korea absent for the week.
India and the Middle East were key contributors for this week's total imports.
Arrival cargoes from India were at its highest level since the year started, the data showed.
This came largely in line with earlier expectations given better economic sense for sellers to send their cargoes east instead of west owing to high freight costs in most parts of end-January and early February, one source said.
India-origin diesel arriving into Singapore for February is slated to hit around a six-month high, Kpler and LSEG shiptracking data showed.
However, analysts are expecting this trend to change in March given an improvement in seller profits to northwest Europe in recent days.
"Towards the end of March, Singapore should experience a reduction in diesel flows from the AG/WCI, as these shipments are increasingly directed toward Europe," said Sparta Commodities' James Noel-Beswick.
Total diesel/gasoil exports declined at a slower pace this week, with exports continuing to notable regional destinations such as Indonesia and Malaysia.
The city-state returned to a net exporter position for jet fuel/kerosene, following last week's net importer situation, as total imports declined almost 100% with China arrival volumes missing.
Total exports of the heating and aviation fuel also fell by 31% week on week, with regional destinations still being the key contributor.
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