SINGAPORE, Oct 8: Singapore gas oil prices eased off on Monday, as traders saw no signs of any supply problems from the attacks on Afghanistan.
Traders said as initial concerns of a possible threat to Middle East supplies faded, the market was once again focused on bearish regional demand-supply fundamentals, which pulled prices lower.
Industry sources said on Monday that supplies from key Middle East exporters were flowing normally to world markets.
The impact on the market seems to be very limited, there’s no scramble for barrels or anything like that because it doesn’t look like supplies will be affected, said a trader with a major. People are now looking again at market fundamentals, which are still very bad as there’s no major buying seen.
The only fresh buying was from Indonesia, which issued its regular tender to buy November barrels.
But the tender asked for just 1.8 million barrels for November, unchanged from October imports and within the market’s expectations.
Traders said the tender would do little to lift sentiment.
On the Singapore cash market, four sellers offered late October-early November barrels, and faced just two bids, an indication of a market well-supplied with barrels, traders said.
The offers were at $25.80-$25.85 a barrel, or premiums of 10-30 cents a barrel over spot quotes.
The bids were at $25.50, or between parity to a 15-cent discount to spot quotes.
The fixed levels were lower compared to the last trade done on Friday at $26.30 a barrel.
Jet-kerosene was also bearish, as Japanese buying of kerosene for winter heating oil remained thin.
We’re beginning to think that Japan buying will only come out maybe in December, when it becomes clearer how cold the winter could be, said a Western trader.
Regrade, or the swaps premium of jet-kerosene over gas oil, dipped to be pegged at $0.80/$0.90 a barrel for October.—Reuters
