Singapore middle distillates stocks rise on Mideast, India imports

By Trixie Yap

SINGAPORE, June 15 (Reuters) - Middle distillates stocks at key trading hub Singapore rose for the fourth consecutive week on higher imports from the Middle East and India, official data on Thursday showed.

Inventories of gasoil and jet fuel/kerosene were at 8.607 million barrels (1.155 million metric tons) in the week ended June 14, up by 120,000 barrels from a week earlier, the data from Enterprise Singapore showed.

The country turned net importer in the week for both fuels, as total import volumes superseded total export volumes.

On the gasoil front, imports from Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates were most significant, following the trend of more exports since May due to better margins in the east of Suez markets compared to West.

However, Saudi volumes for July arrival may fall as cash margins to the west of Suez markets have recently improved, two refinery sources who declined to be named said.

Around 90,000 metric tons of material are expected to load in June from the Middle East to Singapore and its offshore tanks, compared with more than 500,000 metric tons loaded in May, ship tracking data from Refinitiv Eikon showed.

Below are the top import contributor countries for gasoil in the week and their respective volumes (in metric tons):

Gasoil exports for the week remain bound for regional countries in the Pacific or Southeast Asia, with Myanmar and the Philippines remaining as top destinations.

Separately, import volumes for jet fuel/kerosene from India emerged for the first time in 2023, further highlighting better margins for sellers to send their cargoes to east of Suez markets in the past month.

Likewise gasoil, jet fuel/kerosene exports from Singapore were mostly bound for Southeast Asia or the Pacific.

(Reporting by Trixie Yap; Editing by Varun H K)