Asia Distillates-Gasoil cracks post sixth straight weekly gain
Asian refining margins for 10 ppm gasoil posted their sixth consecutive weekly rise on Friday as spring refinery turnarounds tightened regional supplies. Refining margins, also known as cracks, for 10 ppm gasoil remained unchanged at $7.57 per barrel over Dubai crude during Asian trading hours.
The cracks have gained 4.4% this week, and have risen about 15% in the last month, Refinitiv Eikon data showed. The gasoil market, however, is expected to come under pressure in the coming weeks as refineries returning from maintenance ramp up production, while coronavirus lockdowns in India and Japan dampen demand for the industrial fuel. India reported another record daily rise in coronavirus cases on Friday, and traders expect wider impending lockdowns would result in soaring fuel exports from the country.
Cash differentials for gasoil with 10 ppm sulphur content <GO10-SIN-DIF> were at a discount of 10 cents per barrel to Singapore quotes on Friday, while the May/June time spread for the benchmark gasoil grade traded at a narrow contango of minus 1 cent a barrel.
CHINA'S APRIL OIL IMPORTS FALL - China's crude oil imports in April fell 0.2% from a year earlier as refiners curbed production to relieve a squeeze in profit margins brought about by rising crude oil prices and bulging inventories. - The world's biggest crude oil buyer brought in 40.36 million tonnes of crude oil in April, or 9.82 million barrels per day (bpd), data from the General Administration of Customs showed. That was the lowest since December and was down from 11.69 million bpd of imports in March.
ARA INVENTORIES - Gasoil stocks held independently in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub slipped 0.8% to 2.2 million tonnes in the week ended May 6, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed. - ARA jet fuel inventories dropped 3.5% on-week to 946,000 tonnes. SINGAPORE CASH DEALS - No gasoil deals, no jet fuel trades
OTHER NEWS - Oil prices steadied on Friday and were set for a weekly gain against the backdrop of optimism over a global economic recovery, though the COVID-19 crisis in India capped prices.
Comments