The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
FUJAIRAH / WAM
Stockpiles of oil products at the Fujairah port in the UAE increased for the first time in six weeks, against a backdrop of strong summer demand from utilities in the region and for jet fuel from Europe, data by the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone showed.
Total stockpiles rose 4.2 percent over the past week to 19.36 million barrels, led by a 41 percent surge in middle distillates which include jet fuel and marine bunker gasoil. Heavy distillates and residues inventory, including fuels used for marine bunkers, were little changed at 9.865 million barrels. Stockpiles had declined for five consecutive weeks to the lowest level this year as of July 1. While there have been reports of shippers avoiding Fujairah because of recent tanker attacks, the stockpiles at the port have signaled increased demand from utilities for air conditioning in summer and from airlines for jet fuel, according to Alex Yap, senior analyst at S&P Global Platts in Singapore.