Commodities

Chart of the day: Jet fuel cracks crash in Asia as airlines cut back China routes amid COVID-19 outbreak

Updated : February 27, 2020 01:21 PM IST

Jet fuel refining margins may succumb to more downside pressure in Asia as regional airlines suspend multiple flight routes to China in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, according to S&P Global Platts. Both physical and paper jet fuel cracks against the Platts Dubai crude benchmark tumbled below the psychological support level of $10/b.

Asian jet fuel demand is expected to take a significant hit as government decision-makers and transport authorities across the region put greater emphasis on controlling flights heading to and/or coming from China, in an effort to contain the spread of the virus in their countries.

In a best-case scenario, S&P Global Platts Analytics expects Asian jet fuel demand to decline over 300,000 b/d year on year in H1 2020, whereas in a worst-case scenario, demand could contract by over 500,000 b/d year on year.