Indonesia’s gasoline demand for December is estimated to reach 10 million barrels helping to strengthen Asia’s gasoline fundamentals. Still, concerns on oversupply persist amid growing Chinese gasoline exports, according to industry sources.
Indonesia’s state-run Pertamina has been ramping up domestic gasoline producers, as Jakarta attempts to battle against the current account deficit. However, driving activity is expected to increase in Indonesia towards the festive year-end season, making the region’s largest gasoline buyer open its doors to more imports.
Pertamina last week, concluded several term tenders for January-June, for 690,000 barrels/month of 92 RON gasoline and 1.19 million barrels/month of 88 RON gasoline. The results of Pertamina’s H1 2020 term negotiation will provide some clarity for the Asian gasoline market. The company is also reportedly seeking alternative supply sources of gasoline outside Malaysia and Singapore.
Despite expectations on rising Indonesia’s imports, sentiment in the Asian gasoline market remains fragile as Chinese gasoline exports are expected to increase sharply. China’s National Bureau of Statistics showed a 9.2% year-on-year increase in the country’s crude oil throughput in October.
