Europe jet fuel imports fall in March as Hormuz closure halts Mideast flows

Europe's jet fuel and kerosene imports have reached 1.064 million metric tons so far in March, down from the 1.111 mt imported during all of February, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data.

According to CAS data, Europe's March imports included 373,000 mt from the UAE, 366,000 mt from Kuwait, 108,000 mt from Saudi Arabia, 87,000 mt from Bahrain, 66,000 mt from India, and 64,000 mt from South Korea.

The flows from the Middle East were loaded before the US-Iran war started. The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed in the last two weeks, and loadings from the region have come to a standstill.

The war has pushed jet differentials and flat prices to all-time highs, impacting jet fuel demand, and leading to flight cancellations.

The Platts Jet CIF NWE flat price hit an all-time high of $1,774/mt on March 19, which is more than double the price seen at the same time last year.

"If this goes on, in the summer we'll all be in trouble – flight cancellations will be the only way," said a Europe-based aviation source.

The UK has been the biggest importer of jet fuel in Europe in March so far, taking 359,000 mt, while France has taken in 210,000 mt and Spain, 200,000 mt.

So far this year, 830,000 mt of jet fuel/kerosene have been discharged in Europe from the UAE, 486,000 mt from Saudi Arabia, while 1.206 million mt came from Kuwait. Kuwait has been the largest exporter of jet fuel/kerosene to Europe on an annual basis since 2023.

According to Kpler, around 1.575 million mt of jet fuel is so far scheduled to arrive in Europe in March, up from around 1.523 million mt in February and down from around 1.9 million mt in March 2025.

For April, 368,000 mt of jet fuel are already scheduled to arrive in Europe.

Flows down on the week

Europe's jet fuel and kerosene imports fell to 253,000 mt in the week to March 22, down from the 602,000 mt imported the previous week, according to CAS data.

Of the imports during the week, 156,000 mt loaded from Kuwait, 66,000 mt from India and 31,000 mt from Saudi Arabia, CAS data showed.

There were no flows from India, China or South Korea in the week to March 15. India and China are major suppliers of European jet fuel, but flows have declined over recent weeks. This comes on the heels of the EU's 18th sanctions package on Russian-origin refined products, which came into effect on Jan. 22, adding to the current supply tightness in the European jet market.