Asia’s middle distillates markets kickstarted the week slowly, with deals scant on the trading window and May spot refiner sales yet to begin.
Some refiners are likely to start their May sales only next week, as there are several regional holidays towards the end of this week.
Meanwhile, expectations emerged of lower spot availability for May shipments from scheduled refinery turnarounds in northeast Asia, providing sentiment support to a certain extent.
Refining margins (GO10SGCKMc1) were near a one-month high of around $14.3 a barrel, gaining by more than $1 a barrel from the previous market close last Friday.
On the spot trading window, a buy-sell gap hindered discussions despite an increasing number of available offers.
The 10ppm sulphur gasoil cash differentials (GO10-SIN-DIF) barely moved, remaining at around discounts of 20 cents per barrel, given the thin trading liquidity.
Front-month regrade (JETREG10SGMc1) closed the trading session at a discount of $1.10 a barrel, little changed from the previous session.
The arbitrage between Asia and the U.S. west coast, however, was still open, though some shipbroking sources said shipping enquiries on this route were still limited.
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS
– No deals for both fuels
INVENTORIES
– U.S. crude oil stockpiles were expected to have fallen last week, along with distillate and gasoline inventories, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday.
REFINERY NEWS
– A fluidic catalytic cracker at Motiva Enterprises’ refinery in Port Arthur, Texas is expected to remain shut for two weeks after a second unsuccessful restart attempt over the weekend, sources familiar with plant operations said on Monday.
NEWS
– U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to hit buyers of Russian oil with tariffs had a limited impact on oil markets on Monday, as traders tried to determine how far the White House could go after Chinese and Indian oil importers.
– Spain’s Repsol REP is in an “open and fluid dialogue” with U.S. authorities as it explores ways to keep operating in Venezuela after Washington moved to revoke its license to export oil from the country, CEO Josu Jon Imaz said on Monday.
– Oil prices are set to remain under pressure in 2025 as U.S. tariffs and slowing economic growth in India and China weigh on demand, while OPEC+ pushes forward with plans to increase output, a Reuters poll showed.
– Nippon Yusen, Japan’s largest shipping line, is concerned Trump’s tariffs could push up the cost of automobiles and daily goods, denting consumer demand and slowing cargo flows, its president said.
– China’s oil consumption will rise 1.1% in 2025 to 765 million metric tons amid better-than-expected economic growth and increasing demand for petrochemicals, a think tank affiliated with state energy company China National Petroleum Corp said on Tuesday.
Source: Reuters