February 06, 2025 [Reuters]- Singapore’s middle distillates stocks rose 13% from last week despite higher net exports, official data showed on Thursday, amid falling 10ppm sulphur gasoil February derivatives prices since earlier in the week.

Inventories of diesel/gasoil and jet fuel/kerosene held at the key oil storage hub were at 10.361 million barrels for the week ended February 5, compared to 9.165 million barrels the week before, data from Enterprise Singapore showed.

Net exports of both diesel/gasoil and jet fuel/kerosene rose from a week earlier, although total exports of diesel/gasoil fell by 12%.

Total imports of diesel/gasoil declined by around 28% from last week, with arrival cargoes for the week mainly from South Korea and Qatar.

More imports are likely to emerge in the next week from South Korea and India, shiptracking data from Kpler and LSEG showed.

The influx of South Korea-origin barrels in the near-term was attributed to weak domestic demand and a lack of demand outlets in other parts of Asia, two Singapore-based trade sources said.

February swap prices have come under pressure since the start of the trading week, likewise spot cash market premiums as sellers start clearing their February positions amid worries of near-term long supplies.

The intermonth spread between February and March paper prices has so far fallen by more than 10 cents from the previous trading session, one brokering source said.

With the recent weakness in Singapore prices, the east-west arbitrage price spreads have widened and could encourage swing suppliers to pivot their cargoes back to the West, a third trade source said.

Meanwhile, total exports of diesel/gasoil also fell, as volumes to Australia and Vietnam both fell, though outflows to Indonesia did record an uptick.

On the jet fuel/kerosene front, total imports were minimal and the city-state turned a net exporter once again.

Total exports of the aviation and heating fuel gained by 30% week-on-week, with volumes mostly to the Pacific regions such as Australia and New Zealand.

While China’s exports have been burgeoning in the past three months, volumes have been minimal to Singapore given better netbacks elsewhere.

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