Asia’s 10-ppm sulphur gasoil margins reversed course and gave back past two sessions of gains, slipping slightly below $28 a barrel, against a backdrop of weaker performance in the crude futures and swaps markets.
The emergence of more India-origin cargoes for November weighed slightly on supply expectations, since the east-west arbitrage remained closed. Some of these cargoes may end up heading east, one source said.
One 60,000-metric ton cargo is likely to be loaded in the next two days heading to Singapore, Kpler shiptracking data showed.
Spot cash premiums fell to a two-month low, reflecting the narrower backwardation in the prompt-forward price structure for November and December. Buying interest for some early November lots capped overall weakness, although a buy-sell gap hampered discussions.
Jet fuel refining margins also fell, but discussions continued to be limited for a second straight session.
Regrade narrowed slightly back to $2.30 a barrel as some swap buyers came back into the market.
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS
– No deals for jet fuel or gasoil.
INVENTORIES
– Analysts in a Reuters poll estimated stockpiles of gasoline were down by about 1.6 million barrels last week, while distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, were seen decreasing by about 1.7 million barrels.
REFINERY NEWS
– Pemex shut down the 270,000 barrel-per-day crude distillation unit (CDU) at its Deer Park, Texas, refinery on Monday because a process line ruptured, said people familiar with plant operations.
– The catalytic cracker of Venezuela’s second-largest refinery, the 310,000-barrel-per-day Cardon, was taken out of service over the weekend due to lack of feedstock, five sources close to operations said on Monday.
NEWS
– Oil prices steadied onTuesday after sliding more than $1 on Monday amid hopes the U.S. would ease sanctions on producer Venezuela and as Washington stepped up efforts to prevent an escalation of the war between Israel and Hamas.
– Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports in August hit their lowest level in 28 months as they fell for a fifth straight month, data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed on Monday.
– Venezuela’s government and opposition will resume long-suspended talks on Tuesday that President Nicolas Maduro said would benefit the upcoming 2024 election, a move that could lead to Washington easing sanctions, multiple sources said on Monday.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Trixie Yap; Editing by Shweta Agarwal)