SINGAPORE: The Asia-Pacific crude market held steady as trading firms were in the process of reselling March-loading cargoes to end-users, although some may choose to store crude for sale later in the year.
Spot differentials for March-cargoes were supported by improving refining margins and a storage contango play, although trading for April-loading cargoes, which begin later this month, may come under pressure due to lower seasonal demand and refinery maintenance.
Traders awaited the result of a tender by PV Oil to sell 600,000 barrels of Bach Ho crude due to load in the first half of March.
Thailand's PTT closed a tender to sell 600,000 to 1 million barrels of crude to its Rayong plant in early-April.
PTT has bought mostly regional grades in its last three monthly import tenders, but Brent's narrowing gap to Dubai crude in recent weeks has made shipments of West African crude to Asia economical again.
Brent-Dubai Exchange of Futures for Swaps (EFS) narrowed 21 cents to $1.31 a barrel on Wednesday, its lowest since early-October.
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