Asian gasoil and jet fuel prices fell to a five- and a-half-year low on Monday, tracking a decline in underlying crude oil prices, with an increase in spot supply masking any impact lower prices might have on demand, traders said. The benchmark 500 ppm sulphur gasoil prices plummeted $1.86 a barrel to $69.45 a barrel while jet fuel prices tumbled $1.69 to $68.85 a barrel, the lowest since July 2009, Reuters data showed.
Still, spot supply from India weighed on sentiment, with India's Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd offering 60,000 tonnes of gasoil for early February loading, traders said. The jet fuel margin cash differential was also dragged down following spot supply from MRPL and lower imports from Japan, they added. Japan usually imports jet fuel during winter while it maximises production of kerosene which is used as heating fuel.
Japan will see mostly warmer than average weather from January to March, the Japan Meteorological Agency said in its monthly three-month forecast in late December. Indonesia's Pertamina will take over the purchase of oil products from its trading arm Petral this month following recommendations from a government panel, sources said. Pertamina will also open up its tender process to include refiners and trading firms, reversing a government decision a few years ago to limit suppliers to national oil companies, one of the sources said.
In term talks, Taiwan's CPC Corp finalised its 500ppm sulphur gasoil contract with three buyers at a discount of about 40 cents a barrel to Singapore quotes, weaker than 2014's term premium of about 20 cents a barrel, industry sources said. The buyers include trader Winson Oil, one of them said. The other two are Idemitsu and Gunvor, a second source said, though this could not immediately be confirmed.
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