Page 8 - LatAmOil Week 29 2022

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On May 17, the price of USGC asphalt surged
to $620 per tonne free on board (FOB) fob, the
highest price recorded within the last 14 years.
On the same date in 2021, the price had been
$392 per tonne FOB.
This price rise was largely driven by the tight-
ening of US motor fuel markets, which experi-
enced their own significant price rises during
the first half of 2022 as a consequence of market
disruptions and rising crude oil prices.
Vortexa data show that the price hike did not
knock USGC producers out of their position as
the primary source of the commodity for the
Latin American region. However, the increase
did discourage buyers from entering into new
deals.
Argentina was the main buyer of US asphalt
during the first six months of the year, purchas-
ing approximately 30% of total shipments, while Argentina was the main buyer of US-produced asphalt in H1-2022 (Photo: Shell)
Mexico followed in second place, accounting for
25%. figure of 87,200 tonnes, Argus Media said.
It was also Mexico that expressed the largest For its part, Argentina compensated heavily
decline in demand for US asphalt, with pur- for the general decline in Latin American asphalt
chases sliding by 53% from a year earlier. Costa sales, returning to the waterborne asphalt mar-
Rican imports plummeted by 41% year on ket after a year of inactivity. (The South Amer-
year, while Chile also pulled back, with exports ican country had not imported any US asphalt
declining by 14% on the first half of 2021. in 2020 and only bought 11,800 tonnes in 2021,
Meanwhile, the Dominican Republic, which Argus Media noted.) Following a drop-off in
did not import any US asphalt in 2021, bought tenders from Argentina in recent weeks, though,
9,600 tonnes in the first half of 2022. Neverthe- deliveries to that country are likely over the next
less, this figure paled in comparison to the 2020 few months. ™

South American, Caribbean fuel imports

reportedly on the rise as of mid-July

THE volume of refined petroleum products
delivered to South American and Caribbean
markets has been climbing this month in
response to seasonal fluctuations in demand,
according to shipping and commodity tracking
data compiled by S&P Global Platts.
In South America, traders’ primary aims are
to meet higher demand for diesel during the
Southern Hemisphere’s winter planting/har-
vesting season and to enable inventory build-up
of heating and generator fuels during the heat-
ing season. As a result, market players have been
bringing more refined petroleum products into
Brazil and Argentina this month.
The increase is clear in the data cited by
Platts, which show that the number of cargoes Fuel deliveries are rising in response to seasonal increases in demand (File Photo)
bound for Brazilian ports hit 42 as of July 19, as
is the push to meet demand in the agricultural The news service noted that South American
sector. More than three quarters of the tankers in diesel demand had remained strong this winter,
question consist of diesel slated for sale to farm- partly because the governments of several coun-
ers and other consumers in the agricultural sec- tries in the region were subsidising fuel prices in
tor, a Brazilian source told Platts. (He put diesel’s order to shield customers from the impact of the
share at 80-90% of the total.) rise in global crude oil prices.

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 29 21•July•2022