SINGAPORE, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Asia's cash differentials for 10 ppm gasoil flipped to a premium on Wednesday, for the first time in nearly six months, buoyed by active buying interest for physical cargoes.
Cash differentials for gasoil with 10 ppm sulphur content GO10-SIN-DIF rose to a narrow premium of 1 cent a barrel to Singapore quotes, a level not seen since Aug. 7. They were at a discount of 1 cent per barrel on Tuesday.
The February/March time-spread for 10 ppm gasoil in Singapore GO10SGSPDMc0 , which turned to a backwardation this week, traded at a premium of 2 cents per barrel, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.
In backwardation, the prompt-month contract is more expensive than subsequent months. This makes it uneconomical to store the product and leads to a drawdown in stocks, which in turn is usually seen as a sign that prices are likely to head higher in future months.
Lack of arbitrage opportunities and currently high refining run rates in the region, however, could result in abundant supplies and weigh on short-term fundamentals before the spring turnaround season kicks in, trade sources said.
Refining margins or cracks for 10 ppm gasoil GO10SGCKMc1 rose 7 cents to $6.61 a barrel over Dubai crude during Asian trading hours, the strongest level since July last year. The cracks for the benchmark gasoil grade have surged 18.7% in the past week.
INVENTORIES
- Middle-distillate inventories in the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone rose about 15% to 5.2 million barrels in the week ended Feb. 1, data via S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Platts showed. FUJAIRAH/
- The weekly stocks in Fujairah have averaged 4.5 million barrels so far this year, compared with weekly averages of 4.2 million barrels in 2020, and 2.4 million barrels in 2019, Reuters calculations showed.
- U.S. distillate fuel inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 1.6 million barrels in the week to Jan. 29, compared with analysts' expectations for a draw of 429,000 barrels, data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday. API/S
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS O/AS
- Three gasoil deals, one jet fuel trade
OTHER NEWS
- Oil prices rose on Wednesday after hitting their highest in about a year in the previous session, boosted by an unexpected draw in U.S. crude and gasoline stocks, fuelling demand recovery hopes as OPEC+ forecasts the market will be in deficit in 2021. O/R
ASSESSMENTS MID-DISTILLATES
CASH ($/T)
ASIA CLOSE
Change % Change Prev Close RIC Spot Gas Oil 0.5%
62.25
1.02
1.67
61.23 GO-SIN GO 0.5 Diff
-1.62
-0.02
1.25
-1.6 GO-SIN-DIF Spot Gas Oil 0.25%
62.35
1.02
1.66
61.33 GO25-SIN GO 0.25 Diff
-1.52
-0.02
1.33
-1.5 GO25-SIN-DIF Spot Gas Oil 0.05%
62.62
1.02
1.66
61.6 GO005-SIN GO 0.05 Diff
-1.25
-0.02
1.63
-1.23 GO005-SIN-DIF Spot Gas Oil 0.001%
63.88
1.06
1.69
62.82 GO10-SIN GO 0.001 Diff
0.01
0.02
-200.00
-0.01 GO10-SIN-DIF Spot Jet/Kero
61.23
1.16
1.93
60.07 JET-SIN Jet/Kero Diff
-0.11
0.06
-35.29
-0.17 JET-SIN-DIF
For a list of derivatives prices, including margins,
please double click the RICs below.
Brent M1
BRENTSGMc1
Gasoil M1
GOSGSWMc1
Gasoil M1/M2
GOSGSPDMc1
Gasoil M2
GOSGSWMc2
Regrade M1
JETREGSGMc1
Regrade M2
JETREGSGMc2
Jet M1
JETSGSWMc1
Jet M1/M2
JETSGSPDMc1
Jet M2
JETSGSWMc2
Gasoil 500ppm-Dubai
GOSGCKMc1
Cracks M1
Gasoil 500ppm-Dubai
GOSGCKMc2
Cracks M2
Jet Cracks M1
JETSGCKMc1
Jet Cracks M2
JETSGCKMc2
East-West M1
LGOAEFSMc1
East-West M2
LGOAEFSMc2
LGO M1
LGOAMc1
LGO M1/M2
LGOASPDMc1
LGO M2
LGOAMc2
Crack LGO-Brent M1
LGOACKMc1
Crack LGO-Brent M2
LGOACKMc2