SINGAPORE: Asia’s 10 ppm sulphur gasoil margins fell to $22.48 a barrel on Thursday, on the back of continuously poor fundamentals, amid weakness in upstream oil futures.
Fundamentals remained broadly steady and poor, with northeast Asian refiners still selling March-loading parcels at discounts via open tenders.
The market’s liquidity has been thin for the past few weeks since there is a lack of clarity on China’s price direction, one Singapore-based trading source said.
Cash differentials for 10 ppm sulphur gasoil declined to $1.09 per barrel, tracking more cautious buying interest in the open market.
Jet fuel refining margins weakened at slower pace to close the trading session at $20.63 per barrel, narrowing the regrade to a discount of $1.85 a barrel.
US crude oil and fuel inventories rose last week, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Wednesday. Crude stocks rose by nearly 9.9 million barrels in the week ended Feb. 17, they said. Gasoline inventories rose by about 890,000 barrels, while distillate stocks rose by about 1.37 million barrels, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Onshore inventories of middle distillates in Singapore such as gasoil and jet fuel/kerosene were at 8.211 million barrels (1.102 million tonnes) in the week ended Feb. 23, official data from Enterprise Singapore showed on Thursday.
Oil prices edged up on Thursday, after Brent crude posted its biggest single-day loss in seven weeks the day before, as market players reassessed prospects for supply and demand.
India’s fuel demand is likely to grow 4.7% in the next fiscal year beginning on April 1, initial government estimates showed. Exxon Mobil Corp on Wednesday warned in a securities filing of potential risks to its Kazakhstan oil operations, which provided $2.5 billion in earnings last year.
Russia plans to cut oil exports from its western ports by up to 25% in March versus February, exceeding its announced production cuts in a bid to lift prices for its oil, three sources in the Russian oil market said.
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