Asia Fuel Oil-Market retains weakness as plentiful supplies weigh

SINGAPORE, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Asia's spot fuel oil market eased further on Wednesday as supplies are expected to remain plentiful into early September. The 180-cst high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) cash differential fell $2.63 to $3.70 per tonne over Singapore quotes on Wednesday, with more offers for 180-cst HSFO emerging versus the previous day. Meanwhile, the 380-cst HSFO cash differential inched 36 cents lower to $3.97 per tonne. Peak utility demand in the Middle East is expected to fade into September. The HSFO market could also soften further as more Russian barrels make their way into Asia, loading via ship-to-ship transfer ports in the Middle East and Europe. The very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) market also trended steady to lower in recent trading sessions amid thin demand. Spot offers dipped slightly day-on-day but did not attract buying interest. The 0.5% VLSFO cash differential declined 84 cents to a premium of $13.03 per tonne over Singapore quotes on Wednesday. FUJAIRAH INVENTORIES Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ) inventories for heavy distillates and residues fell 14% from the previous week to 10.56 million barrels (1.66 million tonnes) in the week ended Aug. 22, hitting a nine-week low, latest data from S&P Global Commodity Insights showed. TENDER UPDATES Pakistan's PSO received three HSFO offers and two LSFO offers in a tender seeking fuel oil supply for Sept. 16-30 delivery, documents on its website showed. All three HSFO offers came from Coral Energy, who has been a key supplier to PSO this year. The offers were at premiums of $115, $135, and $145 per tonne over Middle Eastern quotes, CFR. Meanwhile, the two LSFO offers came from Coral Energy and Vitol Asia at premiums of $267 and $302.88 per tonne respectively. OTHER NEWS - Oil prices were little changed on Wednesday as the market grappled with supply concerns amid the sanctioning of Russian shipments, while the initial shock of comments that major producers would cut output wore off. - Europe faces fresh disruption to energy supplies due to damage to a pipeline system bringing oil from Kazakhstan through Russia that was reported by the pipeline operator on Monday, adding to concerns over a plunge in gas supplies. - S-Oil Corp said it has been ordered by local fire authorities to suspend the operation of some of its processing units for 15 days due to the violation of safety management rules. - Chennai Petroleum Corp Ltd said it has formed a joint venture with its parent company Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS and others to build a 9 MMTPA refinery at a cost of 315.80 billion rupees ($3.95 billion) in southern Tamil Nadu state. WINDOW TRADES - 180-cst HSFO: No trade - 380-cst HSFO: Two trades - 0.5% VLSFO: No trade ASSESSMENTS FUEL OIL CASH ($/T) ASIA CLOSE CHANGE PREV CLOSE RIC Cargo - 0.5% VLSFO 745.80 24.48 721.32 Diff - 0.5% VLSFO 13.03 -0.84 13.87 Cargo - 180cst 500.63 7.26 493.37 Diff - 180cst 3.70 -2.63 6.33 Cargo - 380cst 480.87 11.22 469.65 Diff - 380cst 3.97 -0.36 4.33 Bunker (Ex-wharf) Premium - 380cst 8.13 -2.32 10.45 Bunker (Ex-wharf) Premium - 0.5% VLSFO 32.00 -3.00 35.00 For a list of derivatives prices, including margins, please double click the RICs below. Brent M1 180cst M1 180cst M1/M2 180cst M2 Visco M1 Visco M2 380cst M1 380cst M1/M2 380cst M2 Cracks 180-Dubai M1 Cracks 180-Dubai M2 East-West M1 East-West M2 Barges M1 Barges M1/M2 Barges M2 Crack Barges-Brent M1 Crack Barges-Brent M2 (Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh;)