Asia Distillates-Diesel cash diff back at pre-war level; Nov refiner sales at discount

SINGAPORE, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Asia's diesel markets had a bumpy week, with cash premiums easing back to pre-war levels, as traders assessed the impact of a strategic stock release in the West and sufficient regional supplies here going into November.

Spot activity for both October and November shipments in the region was slightly more upbeat from a week earlier, though discussion levels softened into discounts for some refiner sales.

Supplies remain sufficient in Asia, according to multiple trade sources' expectations, though some were still eyeing to see if China's oil majors have more export quotas available for use.

The east-west price spread took a narrow turn in late week to close at around discounts of $160 per ton, owing to downside pressures in ICE gasoil futures following talk of more strategic reserves release in Europe expected soon.

Refining margins eased $1 week on week to around $63 a barrel, recovering from early week lows of $60 a barrel.

Cash differentials softened further, closing at around 90 cents premium a barrel, the lowest since February 27, though a lack of window activity limited fluctuations.

For jet fuel markets, spot activity ticked up slightly late week with Indonesia's Pertamina seeking to buy spot November cargoes.

Regrade rose to slightly more than $2.5 a barrel premiums.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS O/AS

- No deal for gasoil or jet fuel

INVENTORIES

- Oil product stocks independently held in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub rose by 2% on the week, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed on Thursday. ARA/

- US crude stocks fell last week as Hurricane Isaias shut-in output, while distillate inventories fell and gasoline inventories rose, the Energy Information Administration said on Thursday. EIA/S

REFINERY NEWS REF/OUT

- Formosa Petrochemical is reducing crude oil processing at its refinery in Mailiao, Taiwan, as it conducts maintenance at several units, the company's president said.

- Petrovietnam Refining and Petrochemical Corp, also known as BSR, will undergo major maintenance next year, the company said on Friday.

NEWS

- The International Energy Agency agreed on Thursday to release over 20 million barrels of diesel to the market and any oil remaining from a record emergency reserves release pledged in March to boost supply and cool soaring prices.

- The US-Israeli war on Iran has altered bunker buying patterns for shippers globally as they turned to more spot and shorter-term purchases to cope with volatile prices while exploring more alternative locations for supply security, industry executives said.

- When attack drones struck Saudi Aramco's biggest oil pipeline last month, satellite images showed one of its pumping stations burnt to ashes. By the next day, scores of bulldozers were already building a new pipeline.

- Oil prices eased on Friday but were heading for weekly gains on uncertainty over Middle East supplies and a larger-than-expected draw from crude stockpiles in the United States. O/R

PRICES