Asia distillates-jet fuel cash discounts narrow, refining margins gain
Asia's cash differentials for jet fuel inched higher, while refining margins for the aviation fuel climbed for a second consecutive session, buoyed by a steady increase in the number of scheduled flights in the region.
Cash discounts for jet fuel narrowed by 2 cents to 11 cents per barrel to Singapore quotes, the smallest discounts since Dec. 8. Refining margins, or cracks, for jet fuel rose 17 cents to $4.71 per barrel over Dubai crude during Asian trading hours on Thursday.
The cracks have gained 48% in the last month. The jet fuel market has been gradually improving in recent weeks after the COVID-19 pandemic brought air travel to a virtual halt this year, and market watchers believe passenger traffic would be steadily on the rise as vaccine roll-outs spur more international flights in 2021.
The Jan/Feb time spread for the aviation fuel in Singapore slimmed its contango structure by 2 cents on Thursday to trade at a discount of 22 cents per barrel, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.
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