SINGAPORE: Asia’s jet fuel market eased on Thursday, edging away from recent highs after several sessions of sharp gains.
The jet fuel prompt month time spread slipped to $1.45 a barrel, down from a record high of $1.50 a barrel in the previous session.
Similarly, jet cash premiums slipped to 89 cents a barrel to Singapore quotes on Thursday. Cash premiums of the fuel reached a five-year high on Wednesday after five sessions of uninterrupted gains.
The jet fuel market has been supported in recent weeks by a surge in prompt demand and tight availability.
Trade sources said jet fuel supplies were also constrained by lower output from refiners as they increased the production of kerosene, at the expense of jet fuel, to meet firm winter demand for the fuel used for heating in markets including Japan and South Korea.
SINGAPORE STOCKS
– Singapore onshore middle distillate stocks slipped to a two-week low of 9.144 million barrels in the week to Feb. 7, down 2 percent from the previous week, the latest data from International Enterprise (IE) showed.
– Singapore net exports of automotive diesel fell to 62,000 tonnes in the week to Feb. 7, down from 117,000 tonnes in the week before, the IE data showed.
– By contrast, net exports of “other diesel” from Singapore jumped to 300,000 tonnes in the week to Feb. 7, up from 106,000 tonnes in the week before, the data showed.
– Singapore’s net exports of aviation fuel were steady over the past week, totalling 98,000 tonnes in the week to Feb. 7, marginally lower from the 99,000 tonnes of the net exports in the week before, the data showed.
– Onshore middle distillate inventories were 29 percent lower compared with year-ago levels.
EIA DATA
– US crude stocks rose last week even though refineries hiked output, which also boosted gasoline and distillate inventories, the US Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
– Refinery crude runs rose by 784,000 barrels per day, EIA data showed. Refinery utilisation rates rose by 4.4 percentage points. That boosted inventories of gasoline and diesel fuel heading into the less busy season, feeding concerns about supply.
– Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 3.9 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.4 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.
TENDERS
– India’s MRPL refinery is offering 40,000 tonnes of jet fuel for export from New Mangalore on March 10-12 in a tender closing on Feb. 13 with same day validity, the tender document showed.
– Emirates General Petroleum Corporation (Emarat) bought 45,000 tonnes of jet fuel for Feb. 19-20 arrival at Jebel Ali terminal from an unknown seller at a premium of $2.10 a barrel to Middle East quotes on a CFR basis.
Source: Brecorder.com
