SINGAPORE, June 13 (Reuters) - Asia's fuel oil cracks traded in a volatile range on Friday, after crude prices surged on Israel's strikes on Iran.

Prices for oil futures hit their highest level in almost five months, amid escalating tensions in the Middle East that raised concerns about disrupted oil supplies.

Cracks for very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) traded up to as high as premiums above $11 a barrel and touched as low as near $7 a barrel, before closing at above $10.50 a barrel, based on LSEG's data. LFO05SGDUBCMc1, LFO05SGBRTCMc1

High sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) cracks swung between premiums near 50 cents a barrel to discounts wider than $3 a barrel. The cracks closed at small premiums above crude quotes. FO380BRTCKMc1, FO380DUBCKMc1

Trade sources continued to eye any potential impact on shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, spot premiums for fuel oil retreated further on Friday, with market backwardation narrowing day-on-day across all key grades.

Separately, Nigeria's Dangote refinery offered carbon black feedstock for loading in July, via a tender that closes on Jun. 16, according to trade sources.

INVENTORY DATA

- ARA fuel oil inventories STK-FO-ARA dipped 0.9% week-on-week to 1.065 million tons in the week to June 12, based on data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global.

OTHER NEWS

- Israel launched large-scale strikes against Iran on Friday, saying it had targeted nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders at the start of a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon

- Chinese ports operator China Cosco Shipping Corporation is among the firms in talks to participate in a global consortium seeking to buy 43 ports from billionaire Li Ka-shing-owned CK Hutchison, Bloomberg News reported.

- Egypt has reached agreements with several energy firms and trading houses to buy 150 to 160 cargoes of liquefied natural gas, as it ramps up purchases to meet power demands despite strained government finances, industry sources said.

- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday will propose new biofuel blending requirements for oil refiners for the coming two years that will likely include a lower biomass-based diesel mandate than industry groups had requested, according to four sources familiar with the matter.

WINDOW TRADES O/AS

- 180-cst HSFO: No trade

- 380-cst HSFO: Seven trades

- 0.5% VLSFO: No trade

ASSESSMENTS

(Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Shreya Biswas)

((jeslyn.lerh@thomsonreuters.com))