Asia Oil Swaps-Naphtha, gasoil spreads firm on strong physical demand

(For 12-month forward curve, click )
SINGAPORE, July 18 (Reuters) - Front-month timespreads and
cracks for Asia's naphtha and gasoil swaps were firm in early
trade on Wednesday because of robust demand for diesel ahead of
the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and lucrative downstream
petrochemical margins.
Inter-month timespreads were also higher for fuel oil swaps
but cracks remained under pressure because of high Brent crude
and a weak demand outlook for marine fuels.
The August fixed-price swaps for naphtha and fuel oil were
lower in line with a 23-cent dip in Brent crude to $103.33 per
barrel by 0430 GMT from Tuesday's Asian close. The August
fixed-price swap for gasoil was marginally firmer.

NAPHTHA TIMESPREAD SEEN FIRM ON ROBUST DEMAND
Asia's naphtha inter-month timespreads were seen firm
because of robust demand for physical cargoes from Japan and
Korea after Japan's biggest refiner, JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp
, began shutting down secondary units at its 240,200
barrel per day (bpd) Mizushima-B refinery following its
discovery that inspection records had not been kept properly.

South Korea's spot demand was also brisk, with LG Chem
currently in the market seeking first-half September cargoes
through a tender due to be awarded later on Wednesday.
The prompt August/September timespread was valued as high as
a $6.00-6.25 per tonne backwardation, a more than 11-week high,
before easing back to a backwardation of $5.25 per tonne by 0430
GMT.
"The shutdown of JX Nippon Oil's crude distillation and
secondary units is definitely supporting the market this week
but it's long-term impact is doubtful because neighbouring
refineries can cover the production loss," said a
Singapore-based naphtha swaps broker.
The September/October inter-month timespread also rose 25
cents to a $4.00 per tonne backwardation.
The CFR September naphtha crack was 6 cents higher at a
$8.69 per barrel discount to Brent crude while the October
naphtha crack inched 8 cents down to $8.56 per barrel discount
to Brent.
The CFR August swap was $1.00 lower at $857.00 per tonne,
while the FOB Singapore August swap was 20 cents weaker at
$93.40 per barrel.

FUEL OIL CRACKS SINK TO 10-WEEK LOW
Asia's fuel oil cracks sank to a 10-week low amid a weak
demand outlook for marine fuels, persistently depressed
sentiment and high Brent crude. Brent prices have gained about 6
percent so far this month.
The front-month August crack dropped 25 cents to a discount
of $4.56 to Dubai crude, the lowest since May 14 according to
Reuters data. The September crack also fell 22 cents to a
discount of $4.60 a barrel to Dubai crude.
The front-month August/September timespread, on the other
hand, rose 13 cents to a $2.75 per tonne backwardation. The
September/October timespread also gained 13 cents to a $2.50 per
tonne backwardation.
August and September 180-cst fixed-price swaps were valued
at $622.50 and $619.75 per tonne, respectively, down $2.88-3.00
per tonne or 0.46-0.48 percent.

GASOIL SPREADS RISE ON STRONG PHYSICAL DEMAND
Asia's gasoil inter-month timespreads rose after further
demand for physical cargoes emerged from Indonesia and Sri Lanka
amid tight supply.
The front-month August/September timespread inched up 3
cents to a 35 cent per tonne backwardation. The
September/October timespread was 2 cents higher at a 17 cents
per tonne backwardation.
Gasoil's August and September cracks were at a premium of
$17.27 and $17.30 per barrel to Dubai crude, up 28 cents and 30
cents respectively.
The August and September fixed-priced contracts also rose
6-9 cents to $117.60 and $117.25 respectively.
The August regrade, the spread between jet fuel and gasoil,
was 6 cents lower at $1.05 while the September regrade fell 11
cents to $1.25.

PRODUCTS Price Change Pct Change
AUGUST naphtha 93.30/93.50 -0.20 -0.21
SEPTEMBER naphtha 92.50/92.70 -0.40 -0.43
AUGUST naphtha 856.75/857.25 -1.00 -0.12
SEPTEMBER naphtha 851.50/852.00 -1.50 -0.18
AUGUST gasoil 117.50/117.70 0.09 0.08
SEPTEMBER gasoil 117.20/117.30 0.06 0.05
AUGUST fuel oil 622.25/622.75 -2.88 -0.46
SEPTEMBER fuel oil 619.50/620.00 -3.00 -0.48
Product Price Change
AUGUST regrade 1.00/1.10 -0.06
AUGUST gasoil crack 17.17/17.37 0.28
AUGUST 180/380 cst 11.50/12.00 -0.25
AUGUST fuel oil crack -4.66/-4.46 -0.25
AUGUST jet fuel crack 18.22/18.42 0.22
SEPTEMBER naphtha crack -8.79/-8.59 0.06

Inter-month spread Mean Prev Change
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER naphtha 0.80 0.60 0.20
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER naphtha (CFR Japan) 5.25 4.75 0.50
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER gasoil 0.35 0.32 0.03
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER fuel oil 2.75 2.63 0.13

(Reporting by Loh Bohan; Editing by Himani Sarkar)