Singapore's commercial stockpile of residues rose to a 12-week high of 18.65 million barrels in the week ended October 10, data released Thursday by International Enterprise Singapore showed.
Stocks were up 6.2% from a week earlier. IE Singapore describes total stocks of heavy distillates as residues, which include cracked, straight-run fuel oil and low sulfur waxy residue. The data only counts stocks in onshore tanks.
Residue stocks were last higher on July 18, when 19.62 million barrels of stocks were recorded in Singapore, IE Singapore data showed.
Traders attributed the build in stocks to increased volumes from Europe and the US landing in Singapore during the second half of September and early October.
Singapore imported 1.67 million mt of fuel oil over October 4-10, up 20.4% from a week earlier. Fuel oil exports meanwhile, rose 98.2% week on week to 458,870 mt over the same period, IE Singapore trade data showed.
For November, arbitrage supplies from Europe and the US to Singapore were expected to be higher than in October, following the strengthening of the Singapore high sulfur fuel oil market in late September, according to trade sources.
But for October, cargoes from Europe and the US into Singapore were estimated at around 3.5 million mt, lower than typical monthly imports of 5 million mt because of a closed arbitrage window.
