Asia Distillates-Market liquidity thins; more November refiner offers emerge
SINGAPORE, Oct 18 (Reuters) -Asia's middle distillates markets went back to being quiet on Friday, after the past few sessions of upbeat spot trading liquidity, as traders mulled second-half November fundamentals.
Trading momentum was largely upbeat through the week, both on the window and for refiner sales, as traders continued to factor in prompt supply tightness.
The 10ppm sulphur gasoil November-December backwardation steepened in the late week after the rollover in assessment months, with expectations of tightened supply to stay until early next month at least.
Refiners in northeast Asia sold November spot lots at the narrowest discounts since the start of this year, though cautiousness remained on second-half November sales given that supplies could go back up after.
More cargoes were up for grabs on Friday from SK Energy for the second-half November loading.
Jet fuel markets also saw a slight improvement in the November-December price structure, reflecting the strong expectations of winter kerosene demand soon. Spot cash markets also turned into premiums on window as a result of these firm outlooks, hovering at two-month highs. JET-SIN-DIF
Offers for aviation and heating fuel have been minimal for November so far, resulting in higher premiums in the spot market.
Refining margins GO10SGCKMc1 for diesel were broadly fluctuating within a $1-per-barrel range in the trading week, closing at $12.7 a barrel on Friday. Week on week, however, cracking margins slipped by more than $1 a barrel owing to weakness in futures markets.
Cash differentials GO10-SIN-DIF closed at premiums of nearly 50 cents a barrel, up by more than 10 cents from a week earlier.
Regrade JETREG10SGMc1 closed the week's last trading session at a premium of 14 cents a barrel, easing from the previous session's high.
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS O/AS
- No deals for both fuels
INVENTORIES
- Independently held refined oil products stocks in storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage were broadly steady in the week to Thursday, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed. ARA/
- U.S. crude oil production hit a record high last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Thursday, while crude, gasoline and distillate inventories fell. EIA/S
NEWS
- China's refinery output fell 5.4% last month versus a year earlier, official data showed on Friday, declining for a sixth consecutive month even with the start-up of a new plant, as weak fuel consumption and skinny refining margins curbed processing.
- Crude oil futures steadied on Friday after strong U.S. retail sales data and the emergence of more fiscal stimulus to boost China's economy, though prices were still headed for their biggest weekly loss in more than a month. O/R
- China's diesel exports fell in September to the lowest level since June 2023 on weak margins and limited export quotas, customs data showed on Friday.
- Egypt raised fuel product prices on Friday for the third time this year as it continues to cut back on diesel and gasoline subsidies, but said it would cover the additional energy costs for bakers of subsidised bread.
- Malaysia expects lower natural gas and crude oil output in 2025 due to the planned shutdowns of some production facilities for maintenance and easing demand in some export markets, the government said on Friday.
PRICES
MIDDLE DISTILLATES | ||||
CASH ($/BBL) | ASIA CLOSE | Change | Prev Close | RIC |
Spot Gas Oil 0.5% | 79.79 | 0.21 | 79.59 | GO-SIN |
GO 0.5 Diff | -5.91 | 0.00 | -5.91 | GO-SIN-DIF |
Spot Gas Oil 0.25% | 85.22 | 0.21 | 85.02 | GO25-SIN |
GO 0.25 Diff | -0.48 | 0.00 | -0.48 | GO25-SIN-DIF |
Spot Gas Oil 0.05% | 85.56 | 0.21 | 85.36 | GO005-SIN |
GO 0.05 Diff | -0.14 | 0.00 | -0.14 | GO005-SIN-DIF |
Spot Gas Oil 0.001% | 86.20 | 0.21 | 85.99 | GO10-SIN |
GO 0.001 Diff | 0.49 | 0.00 | 0.49 | GO10-SIN-DIF |
Spot Jet/Kero | 86.05 | -0.20 | 86.25 | JET-SIN |
Jet/Kero Diff | 0.24 | 0.07 | 0.17 | JET-SIN-DIF |
For a list of derivatives prices, including margins, please double click the RICs below. | ||||
Brent M1 | BRENTSGMc1 | |||
Gasoil M1 | GOSGSWMc1 | |||
Gasoil M1/M2 | GOSGSPDMc1 | |||
Gasoil M2 | GOSGSWMc2 | |||
Regrade M1 | JETREGSGMc1 | |||
Regrade M2 | JETREGSGMc2 | |||
Jet M1 | JETSGSWMc1 | |||
Jet M1/M2 | JETSGSPDMc1 | |||
Jet M2 | JETSGSWMc2 | |||
Gasoil 500ppm-Dubai Cracks M1 | GOSGCKMc1 | |||
Gasoil 500ppm-Dubai Cracks M2 | GOSGCKMc2 | |||
Jet Cracks M1 | JETSGCKMc1 | |||
Jet Cracks M2 | JETSGCKMc2 | |||
East-West M1 | LGOAEFSMc1 | |||
East-West M2 | LGOAEFSMc2 | |||
LGO M1 | LGOAMc1 | |||
LGO M1/M2 | LGOASPDMc1 | |||
LGO M2 | LGOAMc2 | |||
Crack LGO-Brent M1 | LGOACKMc1 | |||
Crack LGO-Brent M2 | LGOACKMc2 | |||
Reporting by Trixie Yap; Editing by Vijay Kishore
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