London — Jet fuel prices in Northwest Europe remained supported as some cargoesoriginally destined to discharge in the Continent diverted to other regionswhere demand is stronger, sources said.
At least four vessels originally heading for Europe in April have beentempted to other areas, according to sources.
Arrivals for April were just under 1.9 million mt, according to data fromS&P Global Platts trade flow software cFlow. This marked the highest arrivalnumbers so far this year but sits alongside rising demand, low stocks andcompetition from Asia and the US.
Rising prices in Asia as a result of an open arbitrage to the US westcoast, which is also experiencing strong demand, mean arrivals to NWE willultimately fall short of the 1.9 million mt estimate.
The FPMC 21, UACC Eagle, Gulf Cobalt and Ploutos were all originallyfixed to arrive in Europe in April but have moved to alternative homes.
The FPMC 21, a 51,150 dwt vessel, was due to load jet in Kuwait fordelivery into NWE in the middle of April. By Wednesday, the vessel was inJapan, according to S&P Global Platts trade flow software cFlow.
The UACC Eagle, a 73,410 dwt vessel, was due to bring 60,000 mt of jetfrom Sikka to NWE for early April discharge but diverted across the Atlanticto the Caribbean.
The Gulf Cobalt, a 75,000 dwt vessel, was due to take 60,000 mt of jetfrom Sikka to NWE but is currently heading across the Atlantic to St Croix.
Ploutos, a 73,111 dwt vessel, was also meant to take jet fuel to NWE butis also heading across the Atlantic, with a final destination of Quebec,according to cFlow.
The diversion of these vessels led one source to say: "There's higheravailability...but we lost several cargoes and it feels tight again."
By Tuesday evening, physical jet prices rose to five-week highs,supported by these cargo moves. Platts CIF NWE cargo physical assessment rose$1.25/mt on the day to $59.25/mt, the highest level since March 7.
--Caroline Knight, caroline.knight@spglobal.com
--Edited by Jonathan Loades-Carter, jonathan.carter@spglobal.com