Asia’s diesel market structures softened further, against a backdrop of lengthy regional supplies for January and a squeezed east-west arbitrage spread through the week.

A slew of January spot sales were done progressively through the week by various northeast Asia-based refiners, with deals done at wider discounts compared to last week.

However, some prompt buying interest for more 2500ppm sulphur gasoil cargoes did emerge from Indonesia’s Pertamina, according to some trade sources. Exact details could not be confirmed.

Front-month east-west price spreads hovered at discounts of slightly more than $35 per metric ton.
Refining margins (GO10SGCKMc1) slipped back to three-month lows of around $19 a barrel.

Likewise, cash differentials (GO10-SIN-DIF) softened further to premiums of 37 cents a barrel, continuing to hover at six-month low levels.

Jet fuel activity picked up slightly on Thursday-Friday, with some refiners starting to engage in their January sales – though premiums discussed were slightly lower.

Markets were slightly weighed on by closed export arbitrage windows for Asia-loading jet fuel to the U.S. west coast markets, and more swing barrels hitting hit Asian shores in January.

India is likely to export more than 130,000 metric tons of jet fuel to southeast Asia for December so far, LSEG shiptracking data showed.

Regrade (JETREG10SGMc1) however widened slightly to more than premiums of 40 cents per barrel, as gasoil markets softened at a quicker pace.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS
– No deal for gasoil or jet fuel

INVENTORIES
– Refined oil products stocks independently held in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub rose by 1% on the week to their highest since mid-October, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed on Thursday.
NEWS
– Venezuela on Thursday authorized two very large crude carriers (VLCC) to set sail for China, according to two sources familiar with Venezuela’s oil export operations, which would be only the second and third supertankers to depart the country since the U.S. seized a ship carrying Venezuelan oil last week.
– The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on 29 vessels and their management firms as Washington targeted Tehran’s “shadow fleet”, which it says exports Iranian petroleum and petroleum products.
– Oil prices ticked down on Friday and were set to close lower for a second straight week, as rising prospects of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal offset concerns over supply disruptions from a blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers.
Source: Reuters