Asia’s middle distillates markets continued to be plagued by limited spot trading liquidity, though weakness in both ICE gasoil and crude futures prices continued to weigh in.

On the spot tenders front, activity was equally minimal since it was the month-end. However, some trade sources are expecting contractual tenders to emerge in the next two weeks.

Refining margins slipped by almost $2 to slightly above $23 a barrel, reflecting the weakness in the paper markets.

Spot cash premiums for November parcels also softened, as prompt November swaps prices continued to come under pressure as major trade sources cleared their positions.

Jet fuel refining margins also fell at a similar pace, with regrade steady at a discount of slightly above $2 a barrel.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS
– No deals for jet fuel or gasoil.

REFINERY NEWS
– ExxonMobil restarted the coker on Thursday night at its 522,500 barrel-per-day (bpd) Baton Rouge, Louisiana refinery, people familiar with plant operations said on Friday.

NEWS
– China’s manufacturing activity likely expanded for a second straight month in October, a Reuters poll showed on Monday, suggesting recent support measures are helping boost sentiment as the economy stabilises.

– South Korea’s S-Oil 010950.KS, whose main shareholder is Saudi Aramco 2222.SE, on Monday said regional refining margins are projected to remain solid thanks to winter demand, given low global inventories and limited supply potential.

– The number of property foreclosures in China rose 32.3% in the first nine months of the year, according to a private survey, as home owners grappled with debt amid a property market slump and shaky economic recovery.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Trixie Yap; Editing by Devika Syamnath)