SINGAPORE: Asian refining margins for 10 ppm gasoil hit a new record high on Monday, lifted by persistent tightness in supplies, while cash differentials for the industrial fuel grade inched lower on muted trading in the physical market.
Refining margins, also known as cracks, for 10 ppm gasoil rose to $66.06 per barrel over Dubai crude during Asian trading hours, a new high, according to Refinitiv Eikon data that goes back to 2014. The cracks were at $65.15 per barrel on Friday.
Cash premiums for gasoil with 10 ppm sulphur content dipped 2 cents to $7.01 a barrel to Singapore quotes on Monday.
The front-month time spread for 10 ppm gasoil in Singapore remained in steep backwardation to trade at $7.05 a barrel on Monday, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.
Asian refining margins for jet fuel surged to $57.76 per barrel over Dubai crude during Asian trade on Monday, the highest on record according to Refinitiv Eikon data that goes back to 2009. They were at $57.18 per barrel at the end of last week.
A sharp bounce-back in air travel from the pandemic will allow global airlines to narrow losses this year and possibly claw their way back to profit in 2023, an industry body said, as it upgraded widely watched forecasts on Monday.
Global airlines are now expected to post a $9.7 billion loss in 2022, in a sharp improvement from a revised $42.1 billion loss in 2021, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said. The 2022 forecast is nearly $2 billion better than an earlier expectation of a $11.6 billion loss.
“People who longed for the freedom to fly are taking to the skies again — and in growing numbers,” Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general said in a statement on Monday. “By next year, most markets should see traffic reach or exceed pre-pandemic levels.”
China’s crude oil imports from Russia soared 55% from a year earlier to a record level in May, displacing Saudi Arabia as the top supplier, as refiners cashed in on discounted supplies amid sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
Qantas Airways and Airbus said they would invest up to $200 million to accelerate the development of a sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) industry in Australia to help meet the airline’s goal of lowering carbon emissions.