Asia Fuel Oil – Pricing Analyst Update (7–11 September)
- Cash differentials for Asia 380cst HSFO averaged around $29.60/mt over September 7–11, inching up from the prior week’s premium of around $27.50/mt. The Asia 180cst HSFO cash differentials averaged around $25/mt over the same period, easing from a premium of $28.80/mt the prior week.
- Asia 380cst HSFO outright prices averaged around $611/mt over September 7–11, up from the prior week’s average of $587/mt, and the Asia 180cst HSFO outright prices averaged around $615/mt over the same period, also up from the prior week’s average of $596/mt.
- Cash differentials for Asia LSFO averaged around $31.40/mt over September 7–11, falling from the prior week’s average of $41/mt. Outright prices averaged around $777/mt over the same period, up by approximately $10/mt from the prior week.
- The 380cst and 500cst ex-wharf prices averaged around $664/mt and $641/mt respectively over September 7–11, up from the prior week’s averages of $624/mt and $621/mt.
- HSFO firmed broadly, with cash differentials, outrights and ex-wharf levels all higher as war-risk premium persisted and prompt supply stayed tight, while LSFO’s cash differential eased even as its outright inched up, tracking the broader complex higher on a firmer crude backdrop.
- Iran said a Hormuz-management deal with Oman is now “days away”, offering a temporary safe transit route, but the market stayed wary after the US struck three Iranian tankers, destroying one, in retaliation for an IRGC missile attack on two US Navy warships, and Saudi Aramco’s Jazan refinery was hit again. Hormuz traffic held near 11 vessels a day versus a pre-war norm above 100, supertanker earnings hit levels last seen in 2017, and Brent pushed toward $100/bbl, its highest in weeks.
- Separately, a recent tender saw Nigeria’s Dangote refinery offer a cargo split 70kt RCO and 60kt slurry, a notably different ratio from its typical 90kt RCO to 40kt slurry split, potentially suggesting the refiner’s previous RFCC bottleneck issues have eased.
About the Author
Alex Theo | Head of Pricing Analysts, Sparta Commodities
Alex Theo is a commodity price reporter and pricing analyst with over a decade of experience covering oil markets across the Asia-Pacific region. His expertise spans the full oil barrel – heavy distillates, middle distillates, and light distillates – as well as iron ore markets across APAC. Alex now leads the pricing analyst team at Sparta, working alongside Commodity Owners to deliver independent, unbrokered commodity price assessments across key benchmarks.
Connect: LinkedIn
About Sparta
Sparta is the AI leader for commodity trading, home to Leonidas AI, the first decision-making engine for oil and commodity traders. Backed by USD 42 million in Series B funding led by One Peak, with participation from returning investors FirstMark and Singular, the same investors behind AI leaders like Legora, Dataiku, and Synthesia. From independents to multinationals, the world’s leading commodity teams use Sparta and Leonidas AI to move faster, trade smarter, and stay ahead of the market.
For more information, visit Sparta or follow us on LinkedIn.
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