Fuel oil front-month printed ¥3,929/t (-1.06%), a six-week low, while bitumen sat at ¥5,005/t (-0.87%), holding the bitumen–fuel oil spread at ¥1,076/t. With bunker demand shifting structurally from high- to low-sulphur and crude up a mere 0.12%, the pricing tension in fuel oil has moved from 'following crude' to 'bonded tank capacity and laycan rhythm'.

The IMO sulphur cap reshaped bunker demand; VLSFO and HSFO+scrubber coexist. Singapore swaps give Asian buyers a price anchor and hedge.