SINGAPORE: Asia’s cash premiums for 10 ppm gasoil rose on Monday, supported by firmer buying interests in the physical market, while refining margins for the fuel grade jumped to their highest in more than three weeks despite firmer feedstock crude prices.
Cash differentials for gasoil with 10 ppm sulphur content rose to a premium of $4.77 a barrel to Singapore quotes, compared with a premium of $4.38 per barrel on Friday.
The regional gasoil market is currently buoyed by expectations for recovering demand in China as the country eases virus-related restrictions, trade sources said. The upcoming peak monsoon season in India, however, would likely dent its domestic transportation fuel demand, leading to increased exports in coming weeks, they added.
Refining margins, also known as cracks, for 10 ppm gasoil surged to $43.50 a barrel over Dubai crude during Asian trading hours, the strongest since May 5. The cracks, which rose over 20% last week, were at $42.21 a barrel on Friday. Sky-high refining margins for diesel and gasoline in Europe and the United States, driven by a cutoff in Russian supply, has sent prices for some types of physical crude oil to all-time records according to traders.
The dearth of fuel in the major consuming countries just as the summer driving season in the United States kicks off has lifted asking prices near and above historic peaks for lighter and medium oil types from West Africa to the North Sea. The sharp rises underscore a tight market and the difficulty of bringing down transport fuel costs, which have thrust inflation toward 40-year highs and triggered recession fears in the United States and some parts of Europe.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has reconfigured the global oil market, with African suppliers stepping in to meet European demand and Moscow, stung by Western sanctions, increasingly tapping risky ship-to-ship transfers to get its crude to Asia.
Oil prices rose on Monday, hitting their highest in more than two months, as traders waited to see whether a planned European Union meeting would reach an agreement on banning Russian oil imports.
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