SINGAPORE- Asia's cash premiums for 10 ppm gasoil climbed on Monday, lifted by a stronger deal in the physical trade window, while the front-month spread for the industrial and transportation fuel grade moved to its widest backwardation in more than a week. Cash differentials for gasoil with 10 ppm sulphur content rose for a third consecutive session to be at a premium of $5.57 a barrel to Singapore quotes, up from $4.29 per barrel on Friday.

The April/May time spread for 10 ppm gasoil traded at $9 per barrel on Monday, compared with $6.85 a barrel at the end of last week. Refining margins, also known as cracks for 10 ppm gasoil, jumped to $34 a barrel over Dubai crude during Asian trading hours, up from $26.47 per barrel on Friday.

INDIA DIESEL SALES

Indian bulk diesel buyers are snapping up diesel from retail stations as pump prices are 25 rupees ($0.33) a litre cheaper than their bulk contract prices, a spokesperson for a fuel retail joint venture of Reliance Industries Ltd and energy major BP said.

- Indian state-run fuel retailers, who dominate local fuel sales, have not raised pump prices since Nov. 4 despite a surge in global oil and fuel prices, but they have continued to raise prices of direct sales for industrial or bulk clients in line with the terms of those contracts. 

- Saudi Arabia regained the spot as China's top crude supplier in the first two months of 2022, having been leapfrogged by Russia in December, while Russian shipments dropped 9% as a cut in import quotas led independent refiners to scale back purchases.

- Oil prices jumped more than $3 on Monday, with Brent above $111 a barrel, as European Union nations consider joining the United States in a Russian oil embargo, while a weekend attack on Saudi oil facilities caused jitters.

(Reporting by Koustav Samanta; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)