Asia Distillates: Gasoil refining margins rise on weaker crude prices

SINGAPORE: Asia’s 10ppm sulphur gasoil and jet fuel margins rose on Tuesday, supported by weaker crude prices and as European inventories dipped by 5%.

Refining margins for 10ppm sulphur gasoil closed trading at $13.28 a barrel.

Jet fuel refining margins firmed to $12.53 a barrel, tracking gains in 10ppm sulphur gasoil.

Cash differentials for 10ppm sulphur gasoil fell to 3 cents a barrel, down from 28 cents a barrel in the previous session.

Asia’s regrade value dipped from last session’s two-month high to minus 75 cents by the end of the trading session.

US crude oil stockpiles were expected to have fallen for a third consecutive week, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday. Analysts estimated stockpiles of gasoline fell by about 600,000 barrels last week, while distillates, which include diesel and heating oil, decreased by about 1.5 million barrels.

Gasoil inventories held in independent storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage area dipped by 5% in the week to Friday at 2.24 million tonnes, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed on Friday.

Oil prices fell in Asian trade on Tuesday, extending losses seen in the previous session, as weak economic data from China and expectations of a US interest rate increase weigh on the market.

US crude oil exports rose more-than-expected last month, building on a record 4.5 million barrels per day in March, as Chinese refiners snapped up cargoes to meet rising fuel demand, according to ship tracking data and analysts.