Asia’s middle distillates markets were slightly quieter though some spot prompt offers did emerge for jet fuel from northeast Asian refiners and regrade flipped to discounts, hitting a two-month low, while swaps trading liquidity rose.
China-origin jet fuel was for sale for end-December loading from one private refiner, two trade sources said, though buying interest could be scant given most buyers had covered their requirements for now.
Jet fuel markets ended up being weighed on by the ample supply availability, with demand for December still remaining a question mark given the volatile heating demand situation, a third source said.
Meanwhile, term negotiations for 2025 were mostly done, with a handful of northeast Asia refiners already confirming their sales at between premiums of up to 20-40 cents per barrel and discounts of 10-20 cents per barrel.
Refining margins rebounded to two-week highs, factoring in the gains in paper markets overnight despite slightly thinning activity.
Cash differentials for 10ppm sulphur gasoil slipped slightly by 4 cents from the previous trading session, though a buy-sell gap hindered overall discussions.
Regrade fell by 46cents a barrel from the previous session to close at a discount of 28 cents a barrel.
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS
– One 10ppm gasoil deal, no jet fuel deals
INVENTORIES
– U.S. crude oil and gasoline stockpiles were expected to have fallen last week while distillate inventories likely rose, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday.
NEWS
– China’s crude oil imports jumped in November from a year earlier for the first annual growth in seven months, data showed on Tuesday, driven by lower prices of Middle East supplies and additions to the national stockpile.
– Private Chinese refiner Hengli Petrochemical has snapped up Middle East crude, six traders familiar with the matter said, mostly from TotalEnergies after the French major amassed a large volume of the oil and as Iranian supply to China has tightened.
– Oil prices slipped on Tuesday as concerns eased about the fallout from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad being overthrown, but the market found support in China’s vow to ramp up policy stimulus, which could boost the top global crude buyer’s demand.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Trixie Yap; Editing by Devika Syamnath)