Asia’s diesel spot activity on the trading window slowed slightly, though October refiner sales picked up, but the paper market backwardation deepened further.
Some refiners started offering October spot cargoes, in line with earlier expectations, with traders watching to see how premiums will fare amid tighter supply forecasts for the fourth quarter.
The front-month diesel east-west price spread discounts eased slightly from the previous trading session, reflecting the weakness in ICE gasoil futures mostly.
Refining margins continued to hover at slightly more than one-month high levels of $19.5 a barrel.
Deals on the spot trading window ceased, with a wider buy-sell gap impeding discussions.
The 10 ppm sulphur gasoil cash differentials firmed to 90 cents per barrel, reflecting one higher-priced bid in the market and the steeper September-October time spread.
Regrade widened further to $1.88 a barrel as front-month gasoil paper markets remained firm.
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS
– No deals for gasoil and jet fuel
INVENTORIES
– Singapore’s middle distillates stockpiles went back on an upward trajectory despite mixed total net export figures, as diesel imports from China soared, official data showed on Thursday.
– U.S. crude and distillate stocks rose last week while gasoline inventories fell, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Wednesday.
REFINERY NEWS
– The gasoline producing unit at Nigeria’s 650,000 barrel-per-day Dangote refinery has been taken offline due to catalyst leaks and other issues, with repairs expected to take at least two weeks, two sources familiar with the matter said.
NEWS
– Russia’s largest oil producer Rosneft ROSN.MM has secured an additional deal on supply of 2.5 million metric tons of oil per year to China via Kazakhstan, Interfax news agency quoted Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev as saying on Thursday.
– Venezuela’s oil exports surpassed 900,000 barrels per day in August, the highest level since November, after energy producer Chevron CVX.N received a license that has allowed the OPEC country’s crude to return to the U.S. market after a four-month pause, shipping data showed.
– U.S. oil and gas producer ConocoPhillips COP.N will cut 20-25% of its workforce as part of a broad restructuring, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday, after five sources told Reuters that CEO Ryan Lance detailed the plans in a morning video message.
Source: Reuters