At the end of February, product stocks in Singapore rose considerably by 11.1 mb to stand at 58 mb. At this level, product stocks in Singapore were 10.2 mb, or 21.1%, above the same period a year ago. All products experienced builds. Light distillate stocks rose by 1.9 mb to stand at 15.5 mb, which was 2 mb, or 15.8%, above the same time last year. Middle distillate stocks also rose by 1.5 mb to finish February at 12.5 mb, which was 0.1 mb, or 1%, above the same time a year ago.
The increase in light and middle distillate stocks was mainly driven by lower demand in the region. Residual fuel oil stocks rose sharply by 7.7 mb to end February at 30 mb, which was 8 mb, or 36%, higher than the same time a year ago. The strong build in fuel oil stocks can be attributed to lower bunker demand following the implementation of ECA emission rules.
Product stocks in Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) rose by 0.2 mb in February to stand at 51.2 mb. At this level, product stocks were 10.3 mb, or 25.2%, higher than at the same time a year ago. Within products, the picture was mixed. Gasoline rose by 0.4 mb to end February at 10 mb, which was 2.9 mb, or 39.1%, above the same month last year. Fuel oil stocks also rose by 0.6 mb to stand at 7.9 mb, which was 3.7 mb, or 87%, higher than a year ago. This build was mainly driven by lower demand in the region. In contrast, gasoil fell by 1.2 mb in February to end the month at 25 mb, which was 2 mb, or 8.6%, above the same time last year.