Asia/Pacific News
Singapore Credit Crunch Easing
A month after the credit crunch resulting from the collapse of OW Bunker, Singapore's bunker market is now slowly returning to normal, reports Platts.
According to an unnamed trader in Singapore, the market is returning to "open credit terms" after many suppliers began demanding either cash-in-advance (CIA) or cash-on-delivery (COD) directly following OW Bunker's bankruptcy.
Over the last month, smaller, independent fuel suppliers who relied heavily on the larger trading houses have suffered the most, as lines of credit to end users dried up.
"Everyone needs to sell," said one source, especially as demand has remained tepid recently and crude oil prices have continued to plunge through the floor since September.
Despite OW Bunker having been one of the largest fuel suppliers in the world with what it said was 7 percent of the global market for bunker fuel prior to its demise, supply was said to have not been impacted as competitors have been quick to fill the void.
Cash-rich companies and those who have more integrated systems such as World Fuel Services and Royal Dutch Shell plc [AMS:RDSA] have reportedly been among the companies who have benefited greatly from the departure of the OW.
