Chemicals Updates

Asia and Middle East Fuel Oil Daily Market Analysis / Asian fuel oil cargo cash differentials rise / Hormuz traffic drops to three-week low amid blockades / Pakistan fuel oil exports fall 21% YOY in March

May 20, 2026

The Asian low and high sulfur fuel oil markets eased April 23, while cargo cash differentials rosein the latest trading session, against a backdrop of escalating geopolitical conflict in the Middle East, with Iran retaining military control over the Strait of Hormuz and the US standing fast in its naval blockade on Iranian ports. Earlier, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy had also fired at three container vessels in the waters around the Strait of Hormuz on April 22. Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to six on April 21, the lowest daily count since March 29, according to an April 22 report from Commodities at Sea. All six vessels that crossed the strait were either linked to Iran or part of the shadow fleet, according to CAS....

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