Asia’s diesel market structures firmed for a second straight session against a backdrop of firmer ICE gasoil futures despite muted window activity, while jet fuel market structures continued softening.

More spot February offers emerged from Taiwan’s Formosa Petchem for 500ppm sulphur gasoil, while some more 10ppm sulphur gasoil offers are expected from the remaining northeast Asian refiners.

On the demand front, Indonesia’s Pertamina reissued its tender to procure end-January arrival of 2500ppm sulphur gasoil.

Refining margins (GO10SGCKMc1) extended gains, hitting one-week highs of nearly $19 a barrel, supported by firmness in February paper markets as ICE gasoil futures rebounded.

However, trading activity on the window stayed minimal and cash differentials (GO10-SIN-DIF) rose slightly to premiums of 11 cents per barrel to reflect the higher front-month paper market movements.

Regrade (JETREG10SGMc1) narrowed slightly to 30-35 cents per barrel as Asian jet fuel markets were slightly depressed by a narrower arbitrage price spread with the U.S. West Coast market.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

– No deal for gasoil and jet fuel

INVENTORIES

– U.S. crude oil and distillate stockpiles were expected to have fallen last week, while gasoline inventories likely rose, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday.

NEWS

– Vitol and Trafigura have started discussions on Venezuelan crude oil sales with refiners in India and China for cargoes to be delivered in March, several trade sources said on Monday.
– The launch of Indonesia’s B50 biodiesel mandate will depend on the price gap between crude oil and crude palm oil, a senior official said on Tuesday.
– Two China-flagged supertankers sailing to Venezuela to pick up debt-paying crude cargoes made U-turns and were headed back to Asia, LSEG shipping data showed on Monday, a sign that the U.S.-blocked South American country might not be directly exporting oil to its main buyer any time soon.
– Brent crude oil’s premium to Middle East benchmark Dubai rose on Tuesday to its highest since July as geopolitical tensions in Iran and Venezuela supported the global price marker, LSEG data showed.
Source: Reuters