SINGAPORE, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Asia's 10 ppm sulphur
gasoil margins fell to $22.48 a barrel on
Thursday, on the back of continuously poor fundamentals, amid
weakness in upstream oil futures.
Fundamentals remained broadly steady and poor, with
northeast Asian refiners still selling March-loading parcels at
discounts via open tenders.
The market's liquidity has been thin for the past few weeks
since there is a lack of clarity on China's price direction, one
Singapore-based trading source said.
Cash differentials for 10 ppm sulphur gasoil
declined to $1.09 per barrel, tracking more cautious buying
interest in the open market.
Jet fuel refining margins weakened at slower
pace to close the trading session at $20.63 per barrel,
narrowing the regrade to a discount of $1.85 a
barrel.
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS - No gasoil or jet fuel deal.
INVENTORIES
- U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories rose last week,
according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute
figures on Wednesday. Crude stocks rose by nearly 9.9 million
barrels in the week ended Feb. 17, they said. Gasoline
inventories rose by about 890,000 barrels, while distillate
stocks rose by about 1.37 million barrels, according to the
sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. - Onshore inventories of middle distillates in Singapore
such as gasoil and jet fuel/kerosene were at 8.211 million
barrels (1.102 million tonnes) in the week ended Feb. 23,
official data from Enterprise Singapore showed on Thursday. NEWS
- Oil prices edged up on Thursday, after Brent crude posted
its biggest single-day loss in seven weeks the day before, as
market players reassessed prospects for supply and demand. - India's fuel demand is likely to grow 4.7% in the next
fiscal year beginning on April 1, initial government estimates
showed.
- Exxon Mobil Corp on Wednesday warned in a
securities filing of potential risks to its Kazakhstan oil
operations, which provided $2.5 billion in earnings last year.
- Russia plans to cut oil exports from its western ports by
up to 25% in March versus February, exceeding its announced
production cuts in a bid to lift prices for its oil, three
sources in the Russian oil market said.
PRICES
MID-DISTILLATES
CASH ($/T) ASIA CLOSE Change % Change Prev RIC
Close
Spot Gas Oil 0.5% 94.8 -2.89 -2.96 97.69 GO 0.5 Diff -6.55 -0.2 3.15 -6.35 Spot Gas Oil 0.25% 95.34 -2.89 -2.94 98.23 GO 0.25 Diff -6.01 -0.2 3.44 -5.81 <GO25-SIN-DIF
>
Spot Gas Oil 0.05% 97.64 -2.89 -2.87 100.53 GO 0.05 Diff -3.71 -0.2 5.70 -3.51 <GO005-SIN-DI
F>
Spot Gas Oil 0.001% 102.44 -2.86 -2.72 105.3 GO 0.001 Diff 1.09 -0.17 -13.49 1.26 <GO10-SIN-DIF
>
Spot Jet/Kero 100.45 -2.32 -2.26 102.77 Jet/Kero Diff 0.95 -0.05 -5.00 1 For a list of derivatives prices, including margins, please
double click the RICs below.
Brent M1 Gasoil M1 Gasoil M1/M2 Gasoil M2 Regrade M1 Regrade M2 Jet M1 Jet M1/M2 Jet M2 Gasoil 500ppm-Dubai Cracks M1
Gasoil 500ppm-Dubai Cracks M2
Jet Cracks M1 Jet Cracks M2 East-West M1 East-West M2 LGO M1 LGO M1/M2 LGO M2 Crack LGO-Brent M1 Crack LGO-Brent M2 (Reporting by Trixie Yap; Editing by Varun H K)
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