In this week’s Market Movers Asia with Ashish Dhyani:
- Jet fuel output may rise as passenger flights increase
- Asian thermal coal demand seen stable
- High stocks to weigh on palm oil prices
- Trading activity to resume in China’s steel markets
This week, Asian oil products traders will be keeping a close eye on the recent downtrend in gasoline crack spreads, while refiners may increase jet fuel output as rising regional air travel boosts demand.
End of the peak summer driving season, tepid regional consumer confidence and rising retail pump prices have pressured Asian gasoline demand and crack spreads.
Demand in the Asian thermal coal market will likely be stable as China stocks up for winter after the Golden Week holidays.
Demand from India is also expected to be resilient ahead of upcoming festivals.
Supply-side concerns persist in Indonesia as several miners await government approval for revised output quotas for this year.
Palm oil traders expect growing stockpiles in Malaysia to weigh on sentiment in the coming week.
Palm oil prices have sunk to their lowest in three months on expectations of poor demand from large buyers coinciding with the peak production cycle in Indonesia and Malaysia.
In metals, the spotlight will be on China’s steel inventories after market activity resumes following the Golden Week holidays.
Manufacturing and export sectors are expected to support Chinese steel markets amid a gloomy outlook for the property sector, the largest steel demand driver.
I’m Ashish Dhyani, thank you for kicking off your Monday with S&P Global Commodity Insights.