SINGAPORE, May 22 (Reuters) - The Asian ultra low sulphur
diesel premium fell to a more than six-week low on Wednesday as
arbitrage economics to send the cargoes to Europe remained
firmly shut on weak European demand, industry sources said.
The cash premium for the 10 ppm sulphur diesel premium fell
12 cents to $1.66 a barrel above Singapore quotes, lowest since
April 8 when it was at $1.64, Reuters data showed.
Australia remains one of the main importers of the diesel
grade, apart from Europe, traders said.
But lower refinery runs in Japan, a major exporter of the
grade, could support the premiums in the next week, they added.
Japan's refinery runs fell to 64.9 percent in the week to
May 18, from 74.4 percent the previous week, latest data from
the Petroleum Association of Japan showed.
But its diesel exports rose slightly despite the run cuts,
suggesting domestic demand is lacklustre, traders said.
India's Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) is seeking a
rare high sulphur gasoil cargo for early June delivery after a
fire at its Visakhapatnam plant last week.
The state-owned refiner sold a similar cargo last year and
has turned buyer for the first time in at least a year.
A fire hit HPCL's 8.3 million tonnes a year Visakhapatnam
plant on May 16, prompting it to shut a 3 million tonnes a year
(or around 60,000 barrels-per-day) crude distillation unit.
HPCL is aiming to restart the unit by the last week of June,
a company source said. This could prompt more import tenders in
the next few weeks as it is peak summer demand season in India
when the fuel is used for power generation.
Pakistan State Oil is expected to soon start term
negotiations to purchase gasoil from its long-term supplier
Kuwait Petroleum Corp, an industry source said. The company is
not expected to buy any spot cargoes in the spot market despite
power shortages which have hit the country, the source added.
In the Gulf, a term contract by Abu Dhabi National Oil Co
(ADNOC) to sell jet fuel from July this year to June next year
is likely to have attracted bids of $2 a barrel and below,
traders said, though this could not immediately be confirmed.
ADNOC requested a premium of $2.25 a barrel above Middle
East quotes, but given the weak global demand for jet fuel, this
might be too high, one of them said.
But some demand emerged from from Mediterranean for Gulf jet
fuel cargoes, a second trader said, which could bolster
premiums.
* TENDERS: HPCL is seeking 25,000 to 30,000 tonnes of 1
percent sulphur gasoil for June 3 to 7 delivery into Vizag. The
tender closes on May 23.
- Kuwait Petroleum Corp has offered 40,000 tonnes of 0.2
percent sulphur gasoil for June 23 to 24 loading. The tender
closes on May 23, with same-day validity.
* SINGAPORE CASH DEALS: One gasoil deal, no jet fuel trades.
- BP sold 150,000 barrels of 0.25 percent sulphur gasoil for
June 6 to 10 loading to Unipec at a discount of 5 cents a barrel
to the average of June 5 to 11 Singapore quotes.
MID-DISTILLATES
CASH ($/T) ASIA CLOSE Change % Change Prev RIC
Close
Spot Gas Oil 0.5% 115.42 -1.22 -1.05 116.64 (GO-SIN)
GO 0.5 Diff -1.60 0.20 -11.11 -1.80 (GO-SIN-DIF)
Spot Gas Oil 0.25% 116.82 -1.14 -0.97 117.96 (GO25-SIN)
GO 0.25 Diff -0.20 0.28 -58.33 -0.48 (GO25-SIN-DIF)
Spot Gas Oil 0.05% 117.77 -1.42 -1.19 119.19
GO 0.05 Diff 0.75 0.00 0.00 0.75
Spot Gas Oil 0.001% 118.68 -1.55 -1.29 120.23
GO 0.001 Diff 1.66 -0.12 -6.74 1.78
Spot Jet/Kero 116.03 -1.39 -1.18 117.42 (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 103.19 -1.20 -1.15 104.39
Gasoil M1 117.00 -1.40 -1.18 118.40
Gasoil M1/M2 0.42 -0.08 -16.00 0.50
Gasoil M2 116.58 -1.32 -1.12 117.90
Regrade M1 -0.82 0.00 0.00 -0.82
Regrade M2 -0.28 -0.09 47.37 -0.19
Jet M1 116.18 -1.40 -1.19 117.58
Jet M1/M2 -0.12 0.01 -7.69 -0.13
Jet M2 116.30 -1.41 -1.20 117.71
Gasoil 500ppm-Dubai 16.88 -0.16 -0.94 17.04
Cracks M1
Gasoil 500ppm-Dubai 16.76 -0.23 -1.35 16.99
Cracks M2
Jet Cracks M1 16.06 -0.17 -1.05 16.23
Jet Cracks M2 16.54 -0.26 -1.55 16.80
East-West M1 4.97 1.64 49.25 3.33
East-West M2 -0.53 0.86 -61.87 -1.39
LGO M1 866.75 -12.00 -1.37 878.75
LGO M1/M2 -2.00 -1.00 100.00 -1.00
LGO M2 868.75 -11.00 -1.25 879.75
Crack LGO-Brent M1 13.42 -0.28 -2.04 13.70
Crack LGO-Brent M2 13.79 -0.15 -1.08 13.94
(Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan, editing by William Hardy)
