Asphalt — Asia market commentary

: Oil products
08/09/01

Singapore
Prices have remained firm this week as suppliers here have sold their remaining September cargoes this week at $530 and above. Bulk prices are up by $2/t to $529-534/t fob while drums are up by $3/t to $640-645/t fob. Most September cargoes have been sold to buyers in Australasia and Indonesia — where most of demand from next month seems to be coming from in this region.

The ex-refinery price to Malaysia continues to fall by $10/t this week to $480-485/t, as a single refiner continues to send large volumes up north. Most other producers here have limited export availability in September and are focusing their efforts on the more lucrative waterborne cargo market.

The domestic rack price is up by $8/t to $550-560/t on the back of rising costs and poor margins.

Malaysia
Prices in the country are largely unchanged with the state-owned supplier offering cargoes at around 1,800 ringgit/t this week. But the local cargoes are still not able to match the very competitively priced tank truck volumes offered at 1,680 ringgit/t by a Singapore refiner.

Demand is still slow to pick up after this week's byelections and is likely to be weak with the start of Ramadan on 31 August. Road paving activity and construction is likely to slow down during this month-long period of fasting.

Thailand
Prices have remained unchanged this week at $500-510/t fob as the movement of Thai cargoes continues to be slow because of weak demand in the region. Demand in Vietnam and Malaysia — two traditional destinations for Thai cargoes — is likely to remain weak throughout September. Despite some small volumes heard to have been sold at above $510/t fob last week, this week buyers have been slow to respond to some offers even below $510/t fob.

Volumes allocated for export in September have dropped by 20pc to around 24,000t as a result of poor margins and reduced demand in the region.

Vietnam
Import demand is weak during the current low season and the low domestic price of around $535/t has also further discouraged dealers from buying from regional market. A state-linked supplier that previously had around 4,000t of requirement for September is now reconsidering its import requirements. Previously it received offers of around $520-540/t fob from Singapore and Thai suppliers.

Indonesia
Buying activity has slowed down by this week as most importers and the state-owned supplier have already secured their September cargoes earlier this month. Demand is expected to be healthy next month as road paving activity will be at a seasonal high ahead of Hari Raya Puasa. Roads are traditionally repaved in preparation for the heavy traffic when Indonesians travel back to their hometowns for the festive season.

A significant portion of September requirement is likely to be met by imports because of the longer than expected maintenance at the Cilacap refinery, which has lasted two weeks. The refinery is now scheduled to resume asphalt production on 29 August.

South Korea
Poor margins and the weak Chinese cfr price continue to keep producers out of the export market and in September most refiners still have no intention to offer any spot cargos. Chinese demand is also likely to be week for most of September during the Paralympics and this would further reduce the need for South Korean product on the market.

China
Market sentiment stayed poor this week following the end of the Beijing Olympic Games. The rainy and stormy weather in some parts of east China has further dampened market sentiment. Offer prices by domestic refineries are largely unchanged, but volumes were traded at lower levels this week with demand still muted.

China imported 340,500t in July this year, and imports in the first seven months amounted to 2.04mn t, down by 12.9pc compared with the same period last year.

Cfr prices for imported grades are down by another $5/t to $500-510/t in line with bearish domestic sentiment. Importers are still not very keen on buying.

Taiwan
CPC has delayed the scheduled one-month maintenance of its petroleum coke unit previously planned from 28 Aug to 28 Sep. This means that plans to export asphalt cargoes in September will be moved to October instead. The export availability for September delivery will be only 1,000-2,000t for drums while October exports are likely to be over 15,000t in five to six bulk cargoes. The final decision will be made after 15 September. Another supplier Formosa has sold a spot cargo of 2,900-3,000t for September delivery to a Vietnamese buyer at an undisclosed price, after it awarded a tender for two cargoes of 2,900-3,000t each for September delivery to southeast Asian buyers.

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25/12/24

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Mexico's trade surplus widens in Nov

25/12/23

Mexico's trade surplus widens in Nov

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UK refiners seek unused CO2 allowances after closures

25/12/23

UK refiners seek unused CO2 allowances after closures

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TKW-Frachtkosten steigen 2026

25/12/23

TKW-Frachtkosten steigen 2026

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Viewpoint: Rising premium base oil supply to target EU

25/12/23

Viewpoint: Rising premium base oil supply to target EU

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