SINGAPORE: Asia’s 10-ppm sulphur gasoil margins and premiums opened the week higher on worries of slightly tighter prompt supplies in some parts of China following an explosion at a northeast refinery.

Local prices in north China for both gasoline and gasoil surged because of the unplanned outage, according to several China-based trade sources.

Volatile oil futures in the afternoon trading session, amid firmer cracks in northwest Europe last Friday, also contributed to wider cracks.

Refining margins for 10-ppm sulphur gasoil rose to $35.70 a barrel.

Cash differentials for 10-ppm sulphur gasoil hit a one-month high at $2 a barrel, as one Chinese major bought an early February-loading cargo.

Jet fuel refining margins on the other hand went up by a smaller margin, widening the regrade to a discount of $2.10 a barrel.

Oil prices eased on Monday, though held near 2023 highs, as rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in China clouded prospects for higher demand in at the world’s top crude importer as it reopens after ending strict anti-virus curbs.

China’s Panjin Haoye Chemical Co Ltd has shut down its whole plant, including a crude oil refinery, after a deadly explosion on Sunday killed two people and caused another 12 missing, according to trade sources and a local consultancy.

European traders are rushing to fill tanks with Russian diesel as the clock runs down on a Feb. 5 European ban expected to tighten supplies, re-draw global shipping routes and increase price volatility.