Refining margin for gasoil slipped to more than a three-week low on Wednesday, while the cash premium also extended declines amid narrowing backwardation in recent sessions.

The front-month crack dipped below $23 a barrel at the Asia close, while cash premium GO10-SIN-DIF fell to a six-week low of 83 cents a barrel.

The softer trend in margins largely mirrored the western distillate market, as seasonal demand in Europe is expected to slow after winter tapers off.

Jet fuel has also weakened in recent sessions, with cash premiums declining to more than three-month lows, while market backwardation contracted.

The regrade spread widened on Wednesday, closing at a discount of $2.65 a barrel.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

– No deals for both fuels

INVENTORIES

– Middle distillates stocks at Fujairah Oil Industry Zone fell to a seven-week low of 2.050 million barrels for the week ended Feb. 19, according to industry information service S&P Global Commodity Insights.

REFINERIES

– Vietnam’s Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical will begin maintenance work at its 130,000-barrel-per-day Dung Quat refinery on March 15, the company’s chairman said on Wednesday.

NEWS

– Demand for sustainable aviation fuel should see a long-sought boost after regional airline hub Singapore said it would require SAF on flights from 2026, but high costs and uncertain raw material supply will mean barriers to wider adoption remain.

– TotalEnergies has signed a strategic partnership with Airbus under which it will supply the planemaker with sustainable aviation fuel to meet more than half its needs in Europe, the French energy group said on Wednesday.

– The White House will approve a request from a group of Midwest governors to allow year-round sales of gasoline with higher blends of ethanol, but will push the start date into next year, two sources familiar with discussions said.

Source: Reuters reported by Jeslyn Lerh and edited by Varun H K