The market was awaiting a clearer direction on May supply fundamentals, with a few sellers expected to emerge in the next few days.
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS - No gasoil or jet fuel deal.
INVENTORIES - U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories fell last week, while distillate stockpiles rose, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. Crude stocks fell by about 6.1 million barrels in the week ended March 24, they said. Gasoline inventories fell by about 5.9 million barrels, while distillate stocks rose by about 550,000 barrels, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. - Middle distillates stockpiles at Fujairah Oil Industry Zone fell for the first time in a month to 2.595 million barrels ib the week ended March 27, according to industry information service S&P Global Commodity Insights. NEWS - Saudi Aramco's new refinery deal to buy a 10% stake in private Chinese chemical group Rongsheng Petrochemical includes agreements on crude oil storage in eastern China and the supply of plastics and petrochemicals to the Middle East energy giant.
- Crude prices rose for a third session on Wednesday as a halt to some exports from Iraqi Kurdistan raised concerns of tightening supplies and fears of a global banking crisis eased. - Energy giant Repsol has bought into Europe's drive for green jet fuel, but believes the 200 million euro ($217 million) plant it is building in southeast Spain faces a bumpier ride than if it was on the other side of the Atlantic. - Norwegian oil firm DNO said on Wednesday it had begun shutting down production at its fields in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq after Baghdad ordered a stop last week to exports via a pipeline to a Turkish port. - Russia has sent record volumes of sea-borne fuel oil and vacuum gasoil (VGO) to Singapore and Malaysia in March, adding to oversupplied Asian markets, traders said and Refinitiv data showed.
- China's factory activity likely grew at a slower pace in March, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday, suggesting the economic recovery is uneven in the light of weak global demand and a property slump. - China's mega private refineries are expected to operate at full processing rates or higher until April as their margins have improved after the government lifted COVID-19 restrictions, company officials said on Wednesday.
PRICES
MID-DISTILLATES
CASH ($/T) ASIA CLOSE Change % Change Prev RIC
Close
Spot Gas Oil 0.5% 93.39 -0.84 -0.89 94.23 GO 0.5 Diff -6.61 0 0.00 -6.61 Spot Gas Oil 0.25% 92.94 -0.84 -0.90 93.78 GO 0.25 Diff -7.06 0 0.00 -7.06 <GO25-SIN-DIF
>
Spot Gas Oil 0.05% 97.79 -0.83 -0.84 98.62 GO 0.05 Diff -2.21 0 0.00 -2.21 <GO005-SIN-DI
F>
Spot Gas Oil 0.001% 101.35 -0.84 -0.82 102.19 GO 0.001 Diff 1.36 0 0.00 1.36 <GO10-SIN-DIF
>
Spot Jet/Kero 95.9 -1.33 -1.37 97.23 Jet/Kero Diff 0.41 -0.05 -10.87 0.46 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 Krishna Chandra Eluri)
