Oil product stockpiles at the Fujairah trading hub on the UAE’s East Coast fell to the lowest level this year, led by double digit declines in medium and heavy distillates amid reports of increasing demand, a media report said.
Total inventories declined 7.2 percent over the past week to 18.58 million barrels as of July 1, the lowest since December 31, 2018, according to data released by the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FIOZ).
It was the fifth consecutive week on week drop, the longest stretch of declines since May 2017. Stockpiles of heavy distillates and residues, including marine fuel, dropped 10 percent for the week. Stocks for middle distillates – which include gasoil, diesel, marine bunker gasoil, jet fuel and kerosene – plunged 24 percent on the week.
The Port of Fujairah, outside the Strait of Hormuz, is close to the site where four vessels were attacked in May. While bunker traders had recently told S&P Global Platts that some shippers were avoiding the port, said traders in Fujairah as buying inquiries were picking up.
Traders in Singapore, the world's biggest bunkering hub, also pointed to a slight recovery in their delivered bunker demand against a backdrop of a tighter fuel oil supply outlook for July and August.
Inventories of heavy distillates dropped to 9.835 million barrels, the lowest since 11th March. Middle distillates stockpiles declined to 1.545 million barrels, the lowest since 28th January.
Stockpiles of light distillates bucked the trend, and rose 1.9 percent for the week to 7.196 million barrels. The category includes products such as gasoline, naphtha and condensates.
