ARA fuel oil stocks climb 15% in September so far

The ARA's fuel oil stocks have seen a 15% increase so far in September compared to August, according to data from Insights Global. This comes after fuel oil stocks in the ARA rose by 46% from May, their lowest level in over a decade. However, inventories still remain 18% below February levels, prior to the Middle East conflict.

In September, the ARA imported about 276,000 barrels per day (b/d) of fuel oil, down from the August average of around 342,000 b/d, as per Vortexa cargo flows data. The majority of these shipments originated from Mexico (51%), Poland (23%) and Finland (13%). On the export side, the region has shipped around 184,000 b/d of fuel oil in September, up from 144,000 b/d in August, primarily heading to Canada (84%) and the UK (13%).

Gasoil inventories in the region have remained steady in September, unchanged from August, as per Insights Global data. These inventories are close to their lowest point in four years. The ARA has imported about 271,000 b/d of gasoil so far in September, compared to an average of around 155,000 b/d imported in August, according to Vortexa data. The Netherlands (74%) and Belgium (26%) supplied these cargoes.

The tight fuel availability in the ARA means buyers should expect a lead time of around 5-7 days for competitive offers from various suppliers.