Slew of diesel window deals emerge; front-month timespreads widen

Asia's diesel market activity turned upbeat on Friday, with a slew of deals seen on the trading window and timespreads firming back up, though the east-west spread narrowed slightly.

Spot activity was generally thin towards the end of the week, though sales for end-July shipments earlier in the week were still ongoing at discounts of more than $1 a barrel.

There was quite a bit of market focus on the east-west price spread, which hovered at discounts of roughly $80 a ton even in late week, wider than last week.

Some sparse offers for August shipments surfaced from southeast Asia, though more discussions are expected to come next week.

Refining margins (GO10SGCKMc1) climbed more than $1 week on week to $46.4 a barrel, reflecting the gain in gasoil paper markets in comparison with crude.

Cash differentials (GO10-SIN-DIF) closed the week at $1.3 a barrel, just slightly up from a week earlier and from the previous session.

Meanwhile, on the jet fuel front, the arbitrage spread between Asia and the U.S. West Coast was shaky through the week against a backdrop of rising freight costs on this shipping route.

Regrade (JETREG10SGMc1) discounts widened to nearly $1.5 a barrel.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

- Four gasoil deals, no jet fuel deal

INVENTORIES

- Jet and kerosene stocks held independently in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp refining and storage hub rose nearly 12% in the week to Thursday, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.

NEWS

- Traders have sold gasoline produced by Indian refiner Nayara Energy to Russia, which is grappling with fuel shortages triggered by Ukrainian attacks on its energy infrastructure, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.

- Oil shipments from Russia's western ports hit a record high in June and are expected to maintain that level in July as ongoing drone attacks on domestic refineries force Moscow to boost crude exports, three trade and industry sources said on Thursday.

- Canada announced plans to build a new oil pipeline from Alberta to the Pacific coast, which would give the world's fourth-largest oil producer greater capacity to export to Asia and ease its reliance on the United States.

- China will cut domestic retail price caps on gasoline and diesel from Saturday, as international oil prices have fallen amid progress in Iran-U.S. peace talks aimed at resuming oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

- Russia is poised to import a jet fuel cargo originating from Japan via traders, said three sources briefed on the matter, as the country contends with a fuel crisis after Ukrainian attacks on its energy infrastructure.

PRICES