More fuel oil flows east

摘要

Long-haul fuel oil shipments from northwest Europe and the Mediterranean region showed a signifi- cant increase in December, reflecting a surge in exports to Singapore triggered by falling freight costs. Rotterdam-Singapore VLCC freight rates were discussed at $6.50mn in mid-October, but had fallen by around $1mn in November, leading to a rise in bookings to Asia-Pacific for December loading. Demand for high-sulphur fuel oil remained firm in Singapore, with flows from Europe limited by delays to loadings. Five VLCCs were loaded in Rotterdam to ship fuel oil to Singapore in December, when total eastbound shipments rose by 78.2pc from November to 52,300 t/d.