SINGAPORE: Asia’s 10 ppm sulphur gasoil margins erased all gains from the previous week and fell 9% on Monday, reflecting mixed and cautious forecasts from participants.

Cargoes remained readily available from South Korea, weighing on supply fundamentals.

However, expectations of some sporadic short-covering demand from Japan and other buyers in the region still gave some hope to participants that buying interest could still emerge.

Cash differentials for 10 ppm sulphur gasoil firmed to 15 cents a barrel, with Trafigura seeking June material still.

Jet fuel refining margins fell at a slower pace to slightly above $14 a barrel, with the slightly opened arbitrage to the US West Coast supporting the market and reflecting a possible sales route for some traders soon.

Regrade narrowed to a discount of $1.02 a barrel, compared with a discount of $1.30 a barrel in the previous close.

Nigeria’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery will be commissioned on Monday amid hopes of an end to the country’s recurring fuel shortages, but a lack of crude supply poses a major risk to it achieving full production.

OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said on Monday that under investing in the oil and gas sector could cause market volatility in the long term and imperil growth.

A shipment of US oil is headed to South Africa for the first time in two years and destined for a Glencore-owned refinery in Cape Town that has restarted operations after an explosion shuttered it in 2020, according to ship tracking data and a source.