End-Dec Trader Diesel Storage Capacity Utilization Dropped
According to SCI’s statistics, up to December 30, the diesel storage capacity utilization at China’s refined oil traders was 27.64%, down 0.09% from the middle of December.
In H2 December, the international crude oil prices mainly trended flat and experienced several decreases, and many participants in China adopted a wait-and-see attitude toward the refined oil market. Players mainly consumed their inventory and cut their replenishment, and the high-value orders in the market were scarce. Moreover, at the end of December, impacted by the cold wave, the transportation and logistics industries underperformed, and the operating rates at infrastructural constructions were suppressed. As a consequence, the overall demand for diesel weakened significantly, and the diesel inventory at traders was consumed at a slow speed, resulting in a slight decrease in diesel storage capacity utilization at traders.
As for the prices of diesel, the National Development and Reform Commission raised the retail ceiling prices of gasoline and diesel on December 17, and most state-owned refineries’ sales companies raised their offers of diesel by RMB 50-100/mt. However, the international crude oil prices underperformed later, and the prices of diesel became stable-to-declining by RMB 50-100/mt. In terms of Shandong independent refineries, the sales of diesel were weak as well, and the prices of diesel decreased by over RMB 100/mt. According to SCI’s statistics, up to December 30, the average price of 0# diesel at Shandong independent refineries was RMB 4,753/mt, down RMB 212/mt from the middle of December.
