News

⑴ The Asian high-sulfur fuel oil market remained strong on Tuesday, with crack spreads trading in premium territory. Data shows that Singapore's April 380-cst high-sulfur fuel oil/Brent crude oil crack spread rose to about 50 cents premium, while the April high-sulfur fuel oil/Dubai crude oil crack spread closed above $3.25 per barrel premium. Spot premiums also continued to rise due to active buying and a strengthening forward curve. ⑵ Traders expect that Asian fuel oil supply will tighten due to loading disruptions in the Gulf region. Meanwhile, the ultra-low sulfur fuel oil market also continued its upward trend, with the April crack spread soaring above $12 per barrel premium. ⑶ In terms of refinery dynamics, Rongsheng Petrochemical, partly owned by Saudi Aramco, said on Tuesday that one of its 200,000 barrels/day atmospheric distillation units entered maintenance ahead of schedule due to tightened crude supply caused by Middle East conflicts. ⑷ Other market news shows that Brent crude oil has risen for the third consecutive day as US-Iran tensions escalate and shipping in the Strait of Hormuz is threatened. To cope with the escalation of regional conflicts, Indonesia's energy minister said the country will increase crude oil imports from the US to replace part of the Middle East supply. Meanwhile, supertanker freight rates in the Middle East have soared to historic highs.

Golden Ten Data reported on March 3 that Sonal Desai from Franklin Templeton pointed out in a report that the Middle East war has led to a rise in oil prices, fueling expectations of global inflation heating up. Desai stated that this should prompt investors to lower their expectations for rate cuts by major central banks. According to data from the London Stock Exchange Group, the market currently expects the probability of the Bank of England cutting interest rates in March to be 31%, much lower than last week's expectation of 83%; meanwhile, investors expect the probability of the Federal Reserve cutting rates in March to be only 4%.

Comparable digital sales in the fourth quarter increased by 1.9%, while the market expected a growth of 3.21%. Net sales in the fourth quarter reached $30.45 billions. Operating income for the fourth quarter was $1.38 billions, with the market expectation at $1.35 billions.