Fujairah's oil product stocks down 4pc
FUJAIRAH, July 28, 2018
Oil product stocks at the Middle East's key oil hub of Fujairah fell 4 per cent in the week to Monday, slipping from last week's seven-month high as light distillate inventories lost ground.
Total oil stocks sank to 19.298 million barrels, down 813,000 barrels from a week earlier, reported state news agency Wam citing the Fujairah Energy Data Committee.
The biggest fall was in light distillate stocks, which declined 12.6 per cent to 6.403 million barrels.
"Fundamentals remained largely unchanged - weak in Asia amidst ample supply, but stronger in the Middle East," S&P Global Platts Analytics said in a report on Wednesday.
The key highlight was a buy tender by KPC at Mina Al Ahmadi boosting gasoline demand in the region, stated S&P Global Platts which holds exclusive rights to publish Fujairah oil inventory data and has deployed a blockchain network for its collation.
Spot premiums for Arab Gulf RON 95 gasoline were at $4.05/b as of Tuesday.
Middle distillate stocks dropped 10 per cent on the week to 2.708 million barrels, said the report.
"Traders said barrels were currently more likely to go east from the Arab Gulf rather than west into Europe," Platts Analytics said. "This is despite seasonally lower demand in parts of South Asia and Southeast Asia due to monsoon rains."
Heavy distillate and residue stocks advanced 4.2 percent to 10.187 million barrels, the highest this year and topping 10 million barrels for the first time since December 2017, the report added.
