In high sulphur fuel oil, we saw some greater strength in the European HSFO complex. The Oct’24 3.5% Barges crack climbed from -$13.55/bbl on 2 Sep to -$9.05/bbl by 19 Sep, fueled by trade houses adding 535kb of longs and hedge funds boosting their position to a net 158kb. The HSFO E/W spiked to $18.00/mt on 9 Sep but dropped to $5.00/mt by 19 Sep, as hedge funds added 171kb of shorts and trade houses liquidated 850kb of shorts before flipping long on 18 Sep. The Oct’24 Visco increased from $9.50/mt on 6 Sep to $12.50/mt by 12 Sep, driven by strong physical demand. End users were buying Oct’24 Visco, while trade houses sold but turned long on 19 Sep. Bullish sentiment also boosted Oct’24 Sing 180, with trade houses buying Oct’24 and Oct/Nov’24, while funds sold Sep/Oct’24.
