Asia’s 10 ppm sulphur gasoil cracking margins rebounded 6.5% day-on-day as worries of tighter supplies in the West resurfaced, despite a wide buy-sell gap in the open market, against a backdrop of weakening crude futures on Wednesday.
Also providing support were uncertainties around how Russian export volumes will pan out going into October on tax-related reasons amid domestic fuel shortages and ongoing refinery maintenance.
Russia’s September loading volumes for gasoil were so far at 2 million to 2.24 million metric tons, Kpler and LSEG shiptracking data showed, almost half the volumes of 3.6 million to 4 million tons in August.
Weak performance in the ICE gasoil futures market kept a lid on overall gains, as a portion of the market remained keen to clear off their trading positions for October.
Cash differentials climbed by 15 cents day-on-day to $2.36 a barrel, as buyers returned to the market. A lack of lower-priced offers left the market with zero deals.
Jet fuel refining margins gained at a faster pace of around 8% day-on-day, with regrade JETREG10SGMc1 narrowing to a discount of almost $2 a barrel given the strong market fundamentals from opened arbitrage sales opportunity from Singapore to the West.
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS
– No gasoil or jet fuel trades.
INVENTORIES
– U.S. crude oil and distillate stockpiles fell last week, while gasoline inventories gained, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday.
– Middle distillates stocks at Fujairah Oil Industry Zone climbed 9% week-on-week to 1.966 million barrels for the week ended Sept. 18, according to industry information service S&P Global Commodity Insights.
REFINERY NEWS REF/OUT
– Motiva Enterprises returned the gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracker (FCC) to production at its 626,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, the nation’s largest, on Monday night, people familiar with plant operations said on Tuesday.
NEWS
– Russia’s government is considering imposing export duties on all types of oil products of $250 per metric ton – much higher than current fees – from Oct. 1 until June 2024 to tackle fuel shortages, sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
– India’s crude oil imports fell for a third month in a row in August, government data showed on Tuesday, as refiners in the world’s third-biggest importer carried out maintenance and reduced shipments from Russia.
– Mexican state energy company Pemex has resumed dealing with Vitol, three sources with direct knowledge told Reuters, nearly three years since deals with the world’s largest independent energy trader were banned over a graft scandal.
– Oil prices fell nearly $1 on Wednesday ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision, with investors uncertain when peak rates will be hit and how much of an impact it will have on energy demand. O/R
– Growing oil demand and extended supply cuts have pushed the market into a deficit and will allow OPEC to sustain Brent crude prices in a range between $80 and $105 per barrel next year, Goldman Sachs said in a note on Wednesday.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Trixie Yap; Editing by Devika Syamnath)