Asia Distillates-Refining margins, cash premiums for jet fuel dive

    SINGAPORE, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Asian refining margins for jet fuel dropped on Monday amid
surging crude oil prices, while cash premiums for the aviation fuel slipped on weaker buying
interest for physical cargoes.
    Refining margins, also known as cracks, for jet fuel fell to $14.01 per barrel
over Dubai crude during Asian trading hours, the lowest since Dec. 12, from $15.25 on Friday.
    Crude oil prices rose 2% on Monday, pushing Brent above $70 a barrel, as rhetoric from the
United States, Iran and Iraq fanned tensions in the Middle East after the killing of a top
Iranian general.
    The jet fuel cracks, which also determine the profitability of closely-related kerosene,
have dropped 15% over the last two months despite the ongoing winter in the northern hemisphere
that typically brings peak heating demand using kerosene.
    A warmer winter so far this year in Japan, which uses kerosene for heating, has led to
lacklustre seasonal demand, trade sources said.
    Temperatures in Tokyo are expected to stay well above normal for the next couple of weeks,
weather forecast models on Refinitiv Eikon showed.
    Cash premiums for jet fuel JET-SIN-DIF dropped to 2 cents per barrel to Singapore quotes
on Monday, down from 33 cents a barrel on Friday.
    Meanwhile, refining margins for gasoil with 10 ppm sulphur content fell to
$14.88 per barrel over Dubai crude on Monday, the lowest in three weeks, from $16.15 per barrel
on Friday.
    Cash premiums for 10 ppm gasoil GO10-SIN-DIF on Monday fell to 37 cents per barrel over
Singapore quotes from 62 cents on Friday, hurt by weaker deal values in the physical market.
    
    SINGAPORE CASH DEALS
    - Three jet fuel trades, six gasoil deals.
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    OTHER NEWS
    - U.S. citizens working for foreign oil companies in the southern Iraqi city of Basra were
leaving the country on Friday, the oil ministry said, after a U.S. air strike killed a top
Iranian commander in Iraq.
    - Venezuelan state company PDVSA is letting some joint venture partners take over the
day-to-day operation of oilfields as its own capacity dwindles due to sanctions and a lack of
cash and staff, according to a former oil minister, an opposition lawmaker and industry sources.


    
    ASSESSMENTS    
 MID-DISTILLATES                                                                         
 CASH ($/T)              ASIA CLOSE       Change   % Change   Prev Close  RIC
 Spot Gas Oil 0.5%                 81.44     0.53       0.66       80.91  GO-SIN
 GO 0.5 Diff                       -2.18    -0.05       2.35       -2.13  GO-SIN-DIF
 Spot Gas Oil 0.25%                82.09     0.55       0.67       81.54  GO25-SIN
 GO 0.25 Diff                      -1.53    -0.03       2.00       -1.50  GO25-SIN-DIF
 Spot Gas Oil 0.05%                83.40     0.60       0.72       82.80  GO005-SIN
 GO 0.05 Diff                      -0.22     0.02      -8.33       -0.24  GO005-SIN-DIF
 Spot Gas Oil 0.001%               83.99     0.33       0.39       83.66  GO10-SIN
 GO 0.001 Diff                      0.37    -0.25     -40.32        0.62  GO10-SIN-DIF
 Spot Jet/Kero                     82.71     0.33       0.40       82.38  JET-SIN
 Jet/Kero Diff                      0.02    -0.31     -93.94        0.33  JET-SIN-DIF
                                                                                         
 For a list of derivatives prices, including margins, please double                      
 click the RICs below.                                                    
 Brent M1                                                                                
 Gasoil M1                                                                               
 Gasoil M1/M2                                                                            
 Gasoil M2                                                                               
 Regrade M1                                                                              
 Regrade M2                                                                              
 Jet M1                                                                                  
 Jet M1/M2                                                                               
 Jet M2                                                                                  
 Gasoil 500ppm-Dubai                                                                     
 Cracks M1                                                                
 Gasoil 500ppm-Dubai                                                                     
 Cracks M2                                                                
 Jet Cracks M1                                                                           
 Jet Cracks M2                                                                           
 East-West M1                                                                            
 East-West M2                                                                            
 LGO M1                                                                                  
 LGO M1/M2                                                                               
 LGO M2                                                                                  
 Crack LGO-Brent M1                                                                      
 Crack LGO-Brent M2                                                                      
 

 (Reporting by Koustav Samanta; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)