Asia distillates

01 Jun, 2023

SINGAPORE: Asia’s spot premiums for 10 ppm sulphur gasoil received support and rose for the third straight session on Wednesday, to 27 cents per barrel from a bout of open market buying for June parcels against a backdrop of zero offers.

Sellers were waiting for a clearer outlook on demand-supply fundamentals for July before they offer.

Separately, 10 ppm sulphur gasoil margins continued to trade sideways in the $14 and $15 per barrel range as thin liquidity in the swaps market continued for a third consecutive day.

Jet fuel refining margins were weighed on by weak demand outlooks, particularly from China. They slumped to below $13 a barrel at the market’s close. Asian jet fuel demand declined by 0.2% on week, and while China’s number of flights remained stable from last week, there is some cause for concern, said StoneX analyst Harry Altham in a client note.

“In particular, there continues to be relatively sluggish appetite for international travel, with only 2,300 international flights per week currently scheduled, much of that short-haul.” Regrade widened to a discount of $1.55 a barrel as a result.

Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia may further slash the official selling prices (OSPs) for all crude grades to Asia by $1 a barrel in July, a Reuters poll showed, despite the looming OPEC+ meeting that could leave the door open to further output reduction.

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