onlineslotswelcomebonus| GTCFX: Asian refiners diversify oil sources

GTCFX pointed out thatOnlineslotswelcomebonusAsian refiners are cutting back on Middle East oilOnlineslotswelcomebonusInstead, they bought crude oil from the United States and Brazil. This change is due to a decline in refining profits and a rise in Saudi oil prices, although international benchmark oil prices remain relatively stable.

While Asian refineries are looking to diversify, the trend is modest. Saudi Arabia remains the largest oil supplier in Asia, well ahead of the United States and Brazil. It is uncertain whether there will be a long-term trend, as Russia still has a large supply of cheap oil to the market. Asian crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia fell to 4.88 million b / d in April, down from 5.07 million b / d in March, while Saudi imports averaged 5.52 million b / d in February, according to LSEG.

The fall in oil prices is due to repeated increases in oil prices by Saudi Arabia and weak fuel demand, which have reduced the profits of Asian refiners. GTCFX believes that this has prompted refiners to buy oil at low prices.

Saudi Arabia has raised official oil prices for the third month in a row since March. In the latest price increase, the price of its flagship product, Arab Light crude Oil (Arab Light), is 2% higher than the Oman / Dubai benchmark price.Onlineslotswelcomebonus.90, more than $83 a barrel, compared with $79 a barrel for West Texas Intermediate (WTI). As a result, American WTI crude oil and Brazilian crude oil are relatively cheaper.

Although oil from the Americas is not the first choice for Asian refiners as long-distance transportation increases costs and may offset the advantage of price discounts, the data show that Asian refiners are still increasing imports of American crude oil in the current situation.

Diversification is likely to accelerate as OPEC+ is widely expected to stick to its production reduction policy at its June 1st meeting. This means that even if Saudi Arabia curbs the upward trend in oil prices, its prices are likely to remain high, compared with Russian crude oil. Russia has become the largest oil supplier to China and India.

GTCFX expects the Asian Refining Chamber of Commerce to continue to increase oil imports from the United States and Brazil until Saudi Arabia reduces prices. But GTCFX points out that Asian refiners have limited capacity to handle light, sweet US crude, which will limit the growth of imports. Most refineries in Asia are designed to handle medium and heavy crude oil, mainly from the Middle East and Russia.

In addition, demand issues will also affect refining profits in the coming months. Asian oil imports fell 440000 b / d in April from March, with a four-month average of 300000 b / d, lower than expected, which was disappointing for OPEC because they had predicted stronger demand.

GTCFX believes demand in Asia is likely to pick up, especially in China. Rystad Energy expects China's oil demand to grow later this year as new refineries are launched and higher fuel export quotas stimulate production. However, the source of crude oil used to fill these quotas is unclear and is likely to reduce imports from the Middle East and increase imports from Brazil and the United States.

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