Jet fuel cracks inch higher amid hopes of aviation demand recovery

SINGAPORE: Asian jet fuel refining margins edged higher on Wednesday as raw material crude prices slipped, while traders were hoping year-end travelling demand would boost the aviation fuel market as governments relax border restrictions further in coming days.

Refining profit margins, also known as cracks, for jet fuel inched up by a cent to $12.36 per barrel over Dubai crude during Asian trading hours.

Global aviation demand is expected to steadily rise over the next few months, given no new variants of the coronavirus dampens plans to ease travel restrictions, trade sources said.

Winter temperatures in North Asia would also play a key role in driving the seasonal heating demand for kerosene, which is slowly starting to pick up, they added. Cash differentials for jet fuel were at a premium of 20 cents per barrel to Singapore quotes on Wednesday, compared with a more than 21-month high of 29 cents per barrel touched in the previous session.

INVENTORIES

Middle-distillate inventories in the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone rose 11.8% to a two-week high of 3.3 million barrels in the week ended Nov. 1, data via S&P Global Platts showed.

The weekly stocks in Fujairah have averaged 3.7 million barrels this year, compared with 4.2 million barrels in 2020, Reuters calculations showed.

U.S. distillate fuel inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 573,000 barrels in the week to Oct. 29, according to market sources, citing American Petroleum Institute figures.

INDIA PEAK OIL DEMAND

India’s aim for net zero emissions by 2070 will not impact the peak oil demand forecast for the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer, the chairman of state-run refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday announced 2070 as the target for India to reach net zero carbon emissions. “Based on the energy requirement of the country, we need to move towards the different forms of energy and we need different forms of energy to cater to increasing needs of the country,” M.K. Surana told a news conference. “And based on the current assessment, it is expected that the peak oil demand may not be before 2040.”