SINGAPORE, May 23 (Reuters) - Asian gasoil margins slipped on Thursday as diesel demand from
Indonesia failed to revive even ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, when demand
usually peaks, traders said.
The June gasoil crack fell 62 cents to $16.26 a barrel above Dubai crude, Reuters data
showed.
Indonesia's diesel demand is expected to remain weak at least until the end of the year as
a slowing economy, contraction in the mining sector and a shift towards cheaper alternatives
curb use of the fuel, industry sources said.
Indonesia, one of the biggest importers of diesel in Asia, has slowed imports by as much as
20 percent a month this year compared with last year, the sources said. The fuel is used in the
industrial, mining, agricultural and transport sectors.
While a slight pick-up is expected from the industrial sectors ahead of the Muslim fasting
month of Ramadan, which starts in early July this year, overall monthly imports are still
expected to lag previous years, they said.
"Diesel demand from the industrial sectors might pick up close to Ramadan, but demand from
mining sectors look hopeless till the end of the year," said a source who supplies diesel to
Indonesia.
Lanka IOC is still negotiating a spot tender to buy 40,500 tonnes of gasoil and gasoline for
mid-June delivery, a source close to the matter said.
The company's May tender was awarded to PetroChina for the first time, the source added, in
yet another indication that Chinese refiners are seeking new outlets to ship excess diesel.
PetroChina supplied term barrels to Sri Lanka's Ceylon Petroleum Corp for the first time
this year while Unipec, the trading arm of China's top refiner Sinopec Corp, participated in an
import tender in Sri Lanka for the first time this year.
A slight drawdown in diesel and jet fuel stocks are expected to prevent further losses in
diesel margins.
Singapore onshore jet fuel and diesel stocks slipped 2.5 percent to 9.292 million barrels in
the week to May 22, latest data from International Enterprise showed.
China did not export any diesel to Singapore last week, the data showed, likely on a
reduction in overall diesel exports from the country due to refiners maximising their export
quotas for the first half of the year.
Diesel imports from South Korea dived to just 15,000 tonnes in the week to May 22, compared
with over 200,000 tonnes the previous week, the data showed.
A bright spot appeared for jet fuel demand with preliminary traffic figures for April
released this week by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines showing further growth in
international air passenger traffic.
Asia Pacific airlines carried a combined total of 17.8 million international passengers in
April, 3.4% more than the same month last year.
* TENDERS: No new tenders issued.
* SINGAPORE CASH DEALS: No deals reported.
MID-DISTILLATES
CASH ($/T) ASIA CLOSE Change % Change Prev RIC
Close
Spot Gas Oil 0.5% 113.13 -2.29 -1.98 115.42 (GO-SIN)
GO 0.5 Diff -1.60 0.00 0.00 -1.60 (GO-SIN-DIF)
Spot Gas Oil 0.25% 114.52 -2.30 -1.97 116.82 (GO25-SIN)
GO 0.25 Diff -0.20 0.00 0.00 -0.20 (GO25-SIN-DIF)
Spot Gas Oil 0.05% 115.48 -2.29 -1.94 117.77
GO 0.05 Diff 0.75 0.00 0.00 0.75
Spot Gas Oil 0.001% 116.38 -2.30 -1.94 118.68
GO 0.001 Diff 1.66 0.00 0.00 1.66
Spot Jet/Kero 113.88 -2.15 -1.85 116.03 (JET-SIN)
Jet/Kero Diff -0.15 0.00 0.00 -0.15 (JET-SIN-DIF)
SWAPS ($/T) ASIA CLOSE Change % Change Prev PM (1130 GMT)
(0830 GMT) Close
Brent M1 101.38 -1.81 -1.75 103.19
Gasoil M1 114.72 -2.28 -1.95 117.00
Gasoil M1/M2 0.35 -0.07 -16.67 0.42
Gasoil M2 114.37 -2.21 -1.90 116.58
Regrade M1 -0.69 0.13 -15.85 -0.82
Regrade M2 -0.22 0.06 -21.43 -0.28
Jet M1 114.03 -2.15 -1.85 116.18
Jet M1/M2 -0.12 0.00 0.00 -0.12
Jet M2 114.15 -2.15 -1.85 116.30
Gasoil 500ppm-Dubai 16.26 -0.62 -3.67 16.88
Cracks M1
Gasoil 500ppm-Dubai 16.32 -0.44 -2.63 16.76
Cracks M2
Jet Cracks M1 15.56 -0.50 -3.11 16.06
Jet Cracks M2 16.09 -0.45 -2.72 16.54
East-West M1 4.41 -0.56 -11.27 4.97
East-West M2 -0.12 0.41 -77.36 -0.53
LGO M1 850.25 -16.50 -1.90 866.75
LGO M1/M2 -2.00 0.00 0.00 -2.00
LGO M2 852.25 -16.50 -1.90 868.75
Crack LGO-Brent M1 13.02 -0.40 -2.98 13.42
Crack LGO-Brent M2 13.57 -0.22 -1.60 13.79
(Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan, editing by William Hardy)
