SINGAPORE: Spot values for Vietnam's Chim Sao weakened in the Asia-Pacific crude market, weighed by a seasonal lull in demand and easing appetite of independent Chinese refiners.
PV Oil sold three cargoes of Chim Sao loading in April at around $2.50 a barrel above dated Brent, down some 50 cents from the previous month when two cargoes were offered, traders said.
Shell, Unipec and Taiyo Oil bought a cargo each, they said. The marketing arm of Petrovietnam had offered the three 300,000-barrel cargoes due to load April 1-5, April 11-15 and April 21-25.
Chinese demand had helped boost premiums for Vietnamese grades in recent months when independent refiners snapped up small short-haul cargoes.
However, changing buying patterns of those refiners, which include buying crude on larger vessels from further away, were seen as impacting demand for regional grades.
Indonesia's Pertamina reissued a tender to buy condensate for May and June delivery. The company was seeking one to two cargoes per month in the tender that closes on Friday, with bids valid until March 1.
In its initial tender that closed last week, Pertamina sought cargoes for the April-June period.
Malaysia's Petronas was offering 600,000 barrels of Kikeh and 900,000 barrels of Cendor for April loading, a trader said, although no deals were heard yet.
Brent's premium to Dubai swaps, or Brent-Dubai Exchange of Futures for Swaps (EFS), narrowed to $2.70 a barrel.
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