Oil product inventories in Asia's key trading hub of Singapore hit a two-week low as residual fuel stocks plummeted, official data showed, though a recovery in middle distillate stocks capped declines.
Total onshore oil product stocks slipped 2.6 per cent week on week to 38.44 million barrels in the week to August 12, Enterprise Singapore data showed.
Middle East outflows to Asia remained crimped as ongoing shipping tensions at key Persian Gulf waterways limited supplies.
Inventories of residual fuels slumped 12 per cent to 17.24 million barrels (2.71 million tonnes), dragged by lower net imports.
Amid a steeply backwardated market, some sellers were also looking to sell cargoes to prevent rollover inventory costs.
Total residual fuel imports fell 55.4 per cent to about 419,000 tonnes, with Brazil as the top supplier. Meanwhile, total exports fell 33.4 per cent to about 249,000 tonnes, with China as the top destination.
Spot markets for fuel oil remained supported by limited prompt supplies, market sources said.
Light distillate inventories, including naphtha and gasoline, fell to 12.193 million barrels, amid net exports of both products.
Gasoline imports totalled about 83,000 tonnes (701,350 barrels) during the period, while exports reached roughly 309,000 tonnes. Net exports totalled 226,000 tonnes.
Outbound gasoline volumes were led by Australia at about 118,000 tonnes, followed by Indonesia at around 104,000 tonnes. Gasoline inflows were led by South Korea at nearly 53,000 tonnes, followed by China at about 30,000 tonnes.
Naphtha imports stood at about 164,000 tonnes (1.5 million barrels), led by Russia at nearly 125,000 tonnes, followed by Malaysia at around 27,000 tonnes. Imports from the Middle East were absent.
Singapore exported about 213,000 tonnes of naphtha, with shipments to Taiwan at nearly 77,000 tonnes and Thailand at around 71,000 tonnes, making it a net exporter of about 49,000 tonnes.
Middle distillate stocks bounced back to more than a one-month high of around nine million barrels amid falling net exports of diesel.
Net exports of diesel and gasoil fell by around 14 per cent week on week, despite an 87 per cent decline in total imports.
Diesel and gasoil cargo inflows hailed only from China for this week, while outflows were mostly to Australia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.
As for jet fuel and kerosene, net exports rose by 36 per cent week on week, while imports came mostly from Thailand. Traders were eyeing more China-origin barrels in the market over the past few weeks as oil majors there continue their export flows following easing restrictions for a second month.
(Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh, Mohi Narayan, Trixie Yap; Editing by Rashmi Aich)