Asia’s diesel markets remained thinly discussed on the trading window, though market structures went back to a softening trend and some spot offers did emerge from refiners.
More October refiner spot sales surfaced in line with earlier expectations, though some private negotiations could be ongoing.
The front-month diesel east-west price spreads narrowed slightly, reflecting the decline in ICE gasoil futures prices ahead of the contract expiry on Thursday.
Refining margins (GO10SGCKMc1) reversed gains and declined back to one-week lows of around $19.2 a barrel.
Cash differentials (GO10-SIN-DIF) slipped slightly to 86 cents per barrel, amid mixed buying and selling activities on the trading window.
Jet fuel markets continued to weaken further because of ample supply talks.
Regrade (JETREG10SGMc1) widened further to around $2 a barrel.
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS
– No deals for both fuels
INVENTORIES
– U.S. crude, gasoline and distillate stocks rose last week, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday.
– Middle distillates inventories slipped slightly to 2.188 million barrels for the week ended September 8, according to industry information service S&P Global Commodity Insights.
REFINERY NEWS
– Petronas is trying to achieve a 90% operating rate by the end of this year at the crude unit for its Pengarang refinery, Ahmad Adly Alias, the firm’s vice president for refining, marketing and trading told Reuters on the sidelines of the APPEC industry event on Wednesday.
NEWS
– Oil prices rose on Wednesday after Israel attacked Hamas leadership in Qatar and U.S. President Donald Trump asked Europe to impose tariffs on buyers of Russian oil buyers, though a weak market outlook capped further gains.
– An executive with Thai energy firm Bangchak Corp said on Wednesday there is no sign yet of details on the country’s expected mandate for sustainable aviation fuel usage.
– Crude oil loadings from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) marine terminal at Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka near Novorossiisk port were holding steady at around 1.6 million barrels per day so far in September, in line with a provisional export schedule, two traders familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
– Southeast Asia is positioned to export biofuels to other markets such as Europe as production capacity exceeds demand in the region, a senior executive with Malaysian state oil and gas company Petronas said on Wednesday.
Source: Reuters